Woodland Nymph
by Clairisant2000
Summary: AJ goes running in the woods behind his house and encounters something very unexpected!
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: Woodland Nymph

AUTHOR: Clairisant and Brenda

CLASSIFICATION: AJ/Other, Mac/Other

FEEDBACK: Would love to hear both good and bad feedback but please try to be kind and constructive. Clairisant

CREDITS: A special thank you to our beta readers Qupeydoll and Suzie.

Chapter 1

Saturday, May 21, 2005

0530 EST

AJ's house

McLean, Virginia

It was Saturday and as was his custom, AJ was up early and ready to head out for his ten-mile run, but today he would be going alone. His usual running partner was laid up with a sore paw. Dammit had somehow managed to injure her left front paw earlier in the week while AJ had been at work. The vet had told him that she would be fine in a week to ten days, but not to let her do any running until then. So, dressed in sweats and running shoes, AJ set out for his run alone.

AJ owned ten acres of land in McLean, two of which were cleared where he had his home, garage, garden, and such, the other eight acres were wooded and that is where he loved to run. The woods behind his home were actually about forty acres in size and were owned by several other people in the area. The land was hilly and even had a stream running through it with a small waterfall. He liked to alter his running path from time to time, but with Dammit along it was difficult because she liked to run ahead and they would get separated. So since she was at home this time he chose to take a new path through the woods, allowing his feet to take him wherever they desired.

He ran in the direction of the waterfall because he loved that area, but instead of running alongside it as he usually did, AJ crossed the stream and ran in an area of the woods he never had before. It was a perfect spring day, the temperature was just right for running. Not so cool that you could see your breath, but not so warm that you'd regret wearing sweats. AJ could feel his body's changes as he ran. Keeping in good shape was important to him personally and also an ingrained part of his military training. Even though he was behind a desk these days he refused to let himself go.

Only in his mid-fifties, he remained active and fit. If it hadn't been for being nearly bald he'd be able to pass for at least ten years younger. For just a few moments the woods around him faded away as he allowed himself to imagine the reactions of his staff if he came in on Monday morning wearing a toupee. He was laughing aloud at the mental image of Rabb's face, as the women of the office swooned at their CO's new look when he heard the roar. AJ spun to face the sound and tried to lunge out of the way of the large black bear rearing up on it's hind legs that reached out to take a swipe at him.

As AJ tried to lunge away, his foot shifted on uneven ground and his ankle twisted. The swipe from the bear tore through his sweatshirt and T-shirt underneath. He could feel the skin rip and the burn from the claws as they scraped his flesh. The bear grabbed AJ and he could feel the claws puncture his back. Pulling him in close the bear sunk his teeth into AJ's shoulder. Knowing that his only hope of survival was to go limp and allow the bear to think he was dead, AJ did so.

The bear shook him around like a rag doll to see if he was really dead. Dropping AJ to the ground with a grunt he stood over him waiting to see if he would move. Taking several swings at AJ the bear cut deep claw marks into his flesh. AJ almost groaned at a particularly deep cut to his right leg. Finally convinced that his victim was dead, the bear then lumbered off leaving AJ torn and bleeding.

Knowing that he needed to get up and get out of there or he would die, AJ attempted to rise. The pain from his injuries added to the effort of trying to rise, caused him to pass out.

To be continued…..


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Monday, May 23, 2005

0730 EST

JAG Headquarters

Falls Church, Virginia

It was always a contest to see which of them would arrive first and get the coffee pot going for the morning. This morning Mac had gotten there first, but was surprised when the coffee had actually finished brewing and Admiral Chegwidden had not arrived. With a shrug she figured he'd be there any minute and taking her mug of coffee headed to her office to get a jump on the day. Engrossed in her work she was surprised to hear the rest of the staff arrive at 0800 and realized that the Admiral hadn't poked his head in to say good morning. Figuring that he was running late and had gone directly to his office, she shrugged and went back to the brief in front of her.

Mac was crossing the bullpen on her way to the morning staff meeting at 0900 when Petty Officer Coates approached her and asked if she had seen the Admiral. Mac told her that she hadn't, and asked Coates when she had last seen him. She was startled when Jen's reply was, 'Friday.'

"You haven't seen him since Friday?" Mac asked.

"No Ma'am, he hasn't been in all morning. I wondered if he had to go out of town unexpectedly..."

"He would have left one of us in charge. Let me find out if Harm has seen him."

Spotting Harm getting off the elevator with his cover under one arm and his briefcase in the other hand Mac sighed knowing he was running late again. Mac approached him and asked if he had spoken to the Admiral over the weekend.

"No should I have?" Harm asked. "I was out sailing this weekend and didn't take my cell because I wasn't on call."

Shaking her head Mac said, "I was home all weekend maybe he called Sturgis." Walking with Harm into the conference room, they found Bud and Sturgis already seated at the table. Mac sat down in her usual place and turning to Commander Turner asked, "Sturgis, did the Admiral call you this weekend and say anything about going out of town?"

"No Colonel, he didn't, why?"

"Because it's not like him to not show up to work without calling one of us and leaving someone in charge if he was going out of town. As soon as the meeting is over I'm going to call him at home and see if he might be sick." Mac conducted the meeting as the Admiral's Chief of Staff and dismissed everyone as soon as the new cases were assigned and updates on current cases given. She headed to AJ's office to check his calendar on his computer and the one on his desk to see if there might be some clue as to where he might be. When both of those turned up nothing, she placed a call to his home.

There was no answer, just the machine picking up after two rings. This let her know that there were other messages on his machine, because she had called him enough at home to know that the machine picked up in four rings if there were no other messages. Puzzled at where their CO might be, Mac went back to her own office and started to work, but throughout the day she placed several calls to his home hoping to find him there.

AJ had no idea how long he'd been out, but he could tell that it had been some time. He groaned as he tried to move. Every part of his body hurt, but on the up side, he was alive! That fact actually surprised him. As he passed out after the bear attack he was sure that was the end for him. All the action he had seen in his military career and he thought a bear was going to end it all for him less than ten miles from home.

Before he went to the effort of opening his eyes AJ tried to access his condition. There was the bite on his shoulder that was throbbing madly, there were puncture wounds on his back and several claw scrapes on his body. The worst of these was that first one to his chest and a deep one to his right leg. The odd thing that had him puzzled was why he wasn't dead. He should have been if all those wounds had gone untreated. However he was alive and as far as he could tell he had stopped bleeding too. That was another surprise.

To be continued…..


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

As his head cleared a bit more AJ became aware of a few other things. There was a fire burning nearby, he was as warm as toast even though he was naked...NAKED?! How in the hell had he gotten naked? He thought as his eyes popped open. Was the bear some kind of pervert? Or was the bear going to try and pass himself off as a human? Maybe he wasn't as coherent as he'd thought if he could come up with such silly ideas.

Then a movement caught his eye and AJ turned his head to see a woman tending the fire. She was naked! Now he knew it had been a long while since he'd had a woman, since his break-up with Meredith to be exact, but even given that fact he knew he was in no condition to have been having sex. He wondered why were they both naked? Trying to raise himself up on his elbows to speak to her AJ once again passed out. His loss of blood was so great that the smallest effort to move was too much strain for him.

Alerted by the sounds of his movement the naked woman turned to look at him. She saw him fall back as he passed out again and moved to his side. She pulled up the bearskin that covered him and tucked it under his chin. Then she took a rag and bathed his face with cool water. Finding him feverish, she proceeded to bathe his body with cool water then cover then cover him again with the bearskin.

She had been watching the man run the same ten-mile path since he had gotten the dog. Today she was at the usual spot to watch him, but he didn't appear. She wondered why he was late or if, like on other occasions, he might not be coming at all for some reason. Then she'd heard the sounds of the attack. Arriving on the scene as the bear lumbered off, she saw the man. She ran over to see how badly he was hurt and knew immediately he could die from his injuries. She knew she had to stop the bleeding and get him some place warm as quickly as possible. Rolling him onto his back to lift him up, she put her hands under his arms and began to drag him toward the cave.

Once there she stripped off his clothes, bathed his wounds and treated them with medicinal plants. Having nothing else to hold the homemade poultice in place, she tore his T-shirt into strips and used it as bandages. Covering him with her bearskin she then built a fire to keep them both warm. The sun had come up two times since the bear had attacked the man and it was evening of that second day before he began to stir.

She sat there looking at him, watching him sleep, just as she had watched him for years without him knowing about it. When the man had bought the house she had seen him running in the woods that first week and had fallen in love with him. That had been over twenty years ago. She had learned his routine and watched him jogging in the woods all these years. He was always alone, or at least he had been until he had gotten the dog. At first she had been afraid that the dog would spot her and alert the man to her presence, but that hadn't happened. Then she realized that she was jealous of the dog. It was unreasonable yes, but he talked to the dog as he ran and he had never talked to her. The unreasonable part of it was that she had remained hidden from him on purpose, so there was no way he even knew of her existence.

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

That evening after work, Mac drove to McLean worried that she might find the Admiral sick and unable to get to the phone. Arriving at his home she knocked loudly on the door but got no answer with the exception of Dammit barking. Having dated a spy had some advantages after all. She pulled a nail file from her purse and picked the front door lock with ease. Calling out as she walked through the front door, "Admiral, its Mac." There was still no answer although Dammit barked even louder.

Heading to the mudroom, she let Dammit out the back door and then followed her nose to the foul smell coming from the kitchen. She found that his coffee pot had burned itself dry. Turning it off, she knew she would have to let it cool before she threw away the destroyed machine. Even more worried than she had been, Mac began to look around the house for clues to what had happened.

There were fourteen messages on his machine and when she stepped out on the front porch she saw that his mailbox was half full. Bringing it in she placed it on the hall table and wondered if she should call the police to file a missing persons report. Knowing that she wasn't family and that as an adult the police would say the Admiral could come and go as he pleased, she decided to try one other avenue before calling in the law.

Pulling out her cell phone she called Clayton Webb's home number. He came on the line saying, "Clayton Webb here."

"Clay, it's Mac."

"What do you want Mac?"

"I hate to bother you, but I need a favor."

"And why should I do anything for you?" he demanded.

"Because it's not really for me. The Admiral is missing and no one seems to know where he is. I was wondering if you could get a line on where he might be?"

"I don't owe the Admiral any favors either," Clay told her.

"I know you don't Clay, but I was hoping that you might put your personal feelings aside and help another human. I'm sorry I was wrong about you once again," she sighed and hung up.

Running his hands through his hair in frustration, he dialed her cell phone number and waited for her to answer. "Mackenzie," she said into the phone wearily.

"Mac, this is Clay."

"I know the sound of your voice by now Clay," she told him.

"Give me the run down on what's going on with AJ and I'll check into it."

"That's just it, there is no run down. No one knew that he was going out of town; he just didn't show up for work this morning. And now, here at the house, it looks like he's been gone for some time. The coffee pot boiled dry and it looks like Dammit was locked in the mudroom for a while because it is a mess in there. The mail hasn't been picked up in a couple days either," she reported.

"Did you check to see if his vehicle was in the garage?"

Clay heard a muttered, 'Shit' over the line and then the sound of walking and a door being opened. "It's still here," she said into the phone angry with herself that she hadn't thought to look earlier.

"Did you notice any forced entry?" he asked.

"Does mine count?"

"Not in this case," he chuckled.

"Then no," came her answer.

"I'll be out in the morning to see if I can find anything."

"Then I'm going to spend the night just in case he comes home and take care of Dammit," she told him, then reluctantly added, "Thanks Clay."

"Call if anything happens, or if you hear from AJ, otherwise I'll see you in the morning," he told her and hung up.

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

0630 EST

In the woods behind AJ's house

McLean, Virginia

It was morning again before he opened his eyes the next time, but this time he was smart enough not to try and move. Then he felt a movement next to him. Turning his head, even though it hurt to do so, he saw the most intense eyes he had ever seen staring back at him. They reminded him of gray storm clouds. They seemed to boil with emotion. "Who are you?" he asked.

His voice seemed to jolt her into movement. She jumped to her feet and moved away from him. As she bent to tend the fire he noticed that she was still naked. He once again foolishly tried to rise and moaned in pain for his efforts. The moan brought her back to his side and shaking her finger in front of his face in a scolding motion she frowned at him and tucked the bearskin back up under his chin. Placing her hand on his forehead she checked him for fever. Then she walked to the mouth of the cave, as his eyes followed her, for the first time he noticed that there was a curtain of water obscuring the mouth of the cave. He realized they must be behind the waterfall.

She came back with a bowl full of water and a wet rag in her hand, walking with an unconscious grace seemingly unaware that she was naked. It seemed almost as if it was a natural state for her, as it was for him to wear clothes. She knelt down next to him and bathed his face with the rag. She lowered the bearskin to his waist and removed what looked like strips of his T-shirt that were holding what looked like moss and mud against his skin. She bathed his wounds and replaced the muddy moss and then the strips of cloth. When she took hold of the bearskin and began to move it lower than his waist he brought his hand up to hold it in place asking, "Young lady just what do you think you're doing?"

Her face turned to his and as their eyes met she smiled shyly as she placed the index finger of one hand over his lips in a shushing motion. He was distracted by this and because of it she managed to pull the bearskin out of his grip. Laid bare he noticed that he still had his shoes and socks on. His puzzlement at this quickly evaporated as she began to bathe the rest of him with cool water. Working her way up his legs she reached his privates and then even the cool water she was using could not keep his natural reaction at being bathed by an attractive, naked woman at bay.

She watched in amazement as his shaft grew and reached out with almost a curious look on her face, AJ thought, to stroke it with her hand. As his cock twitched in her hand, she gripped him firmly as if she were afraid it would get away. As he grew larger in her hand, her grip tightened to almost a painful pressure. Groaning he asked, "What are you planning on doing now? I really don't think I'm up to having sex."

Turning a puzzled look at him, she looked back at her hand, as his reached up to loosen her grip. It was then she noticed that he was shivering slightly. She pulled the bearskin back over him and turned and walked out of the cave.

She returned a few minutes later with what looked like a broken wicker basket in her hands. He watched in puzzlement as she lifted each foot under the waterfall then vigorously wiped them on a patch of moss at the entrance. Walking across the cave she sat down near an odd assortment of bowls and baskets lined up against one cave wall.

She took a handful of some kind of berries out of the basket she had brought in, placed them in a hollow of a large stone, then reached into one of the other containers and brought out some nuts. Taking a rock she mashed the berries and nuts together into a paste and then picked up a plastic spoon and scraped them onto the lid of a plastic margarine container. Bringing it over to him she sat down near his head and placed the spoonful of the mixture near his lips.

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Trying to turn his head away AJ said, "I'm not hungry," just as his stomach began to growl.

Grinning at him she once again placed the spoon right at his lips. When he opened his mouth to refuse, she popped the spoon in just like he was a child. Unable to avoid taking the mixture into his mouth he was surprised to find how good it actually tasted. Because the mixture was ground into a paste all he had to do was swallow without chewing. When she saw him swallow she withdrew the empty spoon, and continued to feed him. He ate every bit of it and was almost disappointed when it was gone.

"Now that you've fed and bathed me can I know your name?" AJ asked.

Smiling and nodding she put the lid and spoon away and picked up a coffee mug with a broken handle, going over to the waterfall she filled it and brought it back to him helping him to prop his head up so he could drink. After drinking his fill AJ said, "The water was delicious, but you still haven't told me your name."

Tilting her head to the side she gave him a puzzled look, but didn't respond.

Seeing that the girl wasn't going to answer, he wondered if she was unable to speak. Giving it one more try he placed his hand on his chest and said, "My name is AJ," then pointing at her he asked, "What's your name?"

She smiled at him and placing her hand on her cheek closed her eyes then opened them and pointed to him. It was clear she was telling him to take a nap. Surprisingly it didn't sound like a bad idea.

Clay pulled his sports car up in front of AJ's home and began to look around even before he got out. He didn't see any obvious signs of foul play, but a good kidnapper would cover his tracks if he didn't want to be discovered. Going up to the door he was about to knock when it opened and Mac was standing there in her uniform. Handing him a cup of coffee made just the way she remembered he liked it she said, "Morning Clay, thanks for coming."

"No problem, did you have a quiet night?" he asked as he walked in, taking in the room to see if anything out of the ordinary had happened there.

"Only that I had an uninvited guest in my bed," she sighed as she watched him walk around the room and come to a stop at the answering machine.

"And who would that be?" he demanded to know.

Mac pointed to the dog that hadn't left her side since she got there the night before.

"The dog?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Who did you think I meant? The Admiral?"

"I had no idea at your description."

"Well now you know my deep dark secret," she sighed.

"I thought I already knew them all," he sniped.

"Clay could we get back to the business at hand?"

"Yeah," he said as he pushed the button on the answering machine and began to listen to them. Several were from Mac or other members of the staff and one was from the local video store reminding him that he had two movies that were due. The only other message was from someone selling tickets to a police benefit. "I think we can rule out the pimple faced teen from the video store or the local cops as suspects," he informed her.

"And as far as you know no one from your office sent him off on some top secret mission?" she demanded.

"I would have been aware of it if they had. Since I'm the one that the Company would turn to, to ask something like that from someone at your office, I would have been in charge of it."

"And you're not just not telling me because I don't have a 'need to know'?"

"No, and I think at this point our best bet is to put out a red alert through the Company and the Bureau that he's missing."

"Do you think I should call his daughter to see if she knows anything?"

"Would he visit her without letting anyone know?"

"That's not like the Admiral."

To be continued...


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Then I don't think we should contact his daughter until we know a little more," Clay told Mac.

"From everything I've seen around here it looks like he just walked out with every intention of coming back, but didn't. There doesn't seem to be any significant amount of clothing gone, the coffee pot burned dry and the Escalade is still here."

"So then where the hell is he?" Clay muttered.

Frustrated and upset Mac snapped, "If I knew that I wouldn't have called you."

"Now listen here Mac, I don't need this attitude from you. If you can't at least be civil I'm out of here."

Taking a deep breath with closed eyes she tried to calm down and then said, "I'm sorry Clay; I'm just so worried about AJ. This is so not like him that I'm sure something bad has happened to him and the thing is, usually I get a feeling or sense of what's happening, like with Chloe or Harm. The thing that's got me so scared is that both of them were found alive..." she took a shaky breath as a tear slid down her cheek and she couldn't finish that thought.

Seeing the emotional response in a woman that was not given to them normally, Clay sighed and put his arm around her shoulders and said, "I'm sorry Sarah, I didn't know AJ meant this much to you. Here all this time I thought it was Harm that you cared for. Is AJ the one you had feelings for all these years?"

"Harm and I never have been nor could we ever be an item. I broke it off with you because of the lies and the dishonesty your job forces on you. If I can't have honesty in a relationship I don't want it. And as for my feelings for AJ of course I have them! He is like a father to me, and to the rest of the JAG staff."

"I didn't know you felt that way about AJ. Don't worry; I'll help you find him."

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

0900 EST

JAG Headquarters

Falls Church, Virginia

Mac arrived at the office just in time for the staff meeting much to everyone's surprise. She was always there way before the rest of them, well she and the Admiral. As everyone took their places Mac took the Admiral's usual seat at the head of the table. "Before we get down to the business of the day," Mac told them, "I have an announcement to make. After checking with everyone that might be in the know, I've come to the conclusion that the Admiral is missing," she paused as everyone around the table reacted.

Concern was the main reaction and a desire to do whatever they could to help find a man that they all felt very close to. "I will call his daughter as soon as this meeting is over on the off chance that he is there, but I'm sure of what I'll find. Admiral Chegwidden wouldn't go away without telling one of us what was going on. So I'll also be contacting the SECNAV to see how he wants to proceed."

"Do you think he could have been kidnapped?" Bud asked.

"I doubt it Bud, there was no evidence of a struggle at his house and I can't imagine the Admiral being taken without a fight." At the nods of agreement around the table she went on, "Plus it looked like he could have left the house either on Saturday or Sunday and if that were the case we should have gotten a ransom demand by now."

"Then what could have happened?" Harm asked.

"I don't know, but I do know he runs in the woods around his house, so tonight when I get off I'm going to take Dammit and see if he might be there hurt or sick."

"Colonel, if that is the case then the sooner he's found the better," Sturgis interjected.

"I agree, but I have cases today and need to be in court this morning," Mac replied.

"Ma'am, I know we can't take your court case this late, but I'd be willing to take on any of your other cases so you'd be free to go to McLean this afternoon," Bud piped up.

To be continued...


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Harm and Sturgis also indicated that they would be willing to do the same and then Harm asked, "If you do find him, how do you think you'll get him out alone Mac? The Admiral is a big guy and too heavy for you to carry."

"If I need to, I'll make a travois and drag him out, and failing that I'll have my cell phone and can call for help." The rest of the meeting progressed as normal and when it was over Mac headed for AJ's office to make her calls. She was right in her guess that he wasn't in Italy and then did her best to calm down his daughter whom she had upset with her call. Then Mac called the SECNAV to let him know that his JAG was missing.

Sheffield's response was as expected. He was concerned and immediately began to make plans for any scenario. As expected he left Mac in charge and demanded to be kept up to speed on all happenings.

Mac crammed every minute full, in preparation to her court appearance. She dictated and delegated and worked diligently until she was sure that she could safely leave the office as soon as court adjourned. She would be taking quite a bit of work home with her to do, after it was too dark to continue to search for AJ. Mac prayed that if she did find him he would be alive, but since she wasn't getting a sense of him in danger, her heart feared the worst.

Her prayers continued as she drove to McLean after stopping at Beltway Burgers to pick up some lunch. She ate as she drove not wanting to waste any time when she got to AJ's. Taking in another day's mail and placing it on the hall table, she let Dammit out to potty while she changed from her uniform to jeans, T-shirt, and tennis shoes.

She loaded down a backpack with medical supplies from his bathroom as well as water and some tools in case she needed to make a stretcher to drag him of the woods. Lastly she tossed in a heavy-duty flashlight in case she was out later than she expected. Because she wasn't familiar enough with Dammit to know if she would run off on her, Mac also attached her leash, which the dog didn't seem to appreciate, then they set off.

Mac wasn't sure Dammit knew what her job was on this walk through the woods. She could only hope that the dog had understood her when Mac had asked her to 'find AJ'. As the two of them hurried through the woods with Dammit pulling on the leash, Mac kept praying that they would find him alive. Fifty-one minutes after leaving the house Dammit became frantic as she arrived at a small clearing.

She circled the area several times sniffing and pawing at the ground. Mac was confused as to why they had stopped there until she saw some unusual dark places on the ground. Wondering if they could be blood, she picked up a sample of the discolored dirt in a tissue she had in her pocket. If this was blood, and AJ's blood at that, it didn't bode well for the Admiral. Where was he? And if he was dead where was his body?

Looking at Dammit who had brought them this far, Mac asked, "Okay, where is he girl? Take me to him."

Cocking her head to one side as if thinking about Mac's request, Dammit let out a sharp bark and pulled Mac away from the clearing. They didn't walk long until they came to a stream and after a short pause as she sniffed around Dammit took off to the right.

Before long Mac could hear the sounds of a waterfall up ahead, and after a few more minutes of walking she could see it. When they got close to it Dammit stopped and began to whine. Mac looked around, but saw nothing. She knew that asking Dammit why she was whining would not get an answer like Lassie used to give. BARK "What did you say Lassie? Timmy fell down the well?" BARK, BARK "And he has his little friend Bobby with him?" 'Yeah THAT really happened!' she snorted.

After several more minutes of searching the area around the waterfall and repeatedly calling AJ's name, Mac tried to pull Dammit away, but she didn't want to leave. Finally after cajoling and pleading with the dog and getting no results, Mac took her by the collar and dragged her away. Every so often on the walk back to the house, Dammit would turn around in the direction of the waterfall and whine.

To be continued...


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

AJ was still so weak from the blood loss, that when he slept nothing could have awakened him. So even if he had been able to hear Dammit over the sounds of the waterfall while awake, the chance of him hearing her from a deep sleep was non-existent. His caretaker, however was another story all together, she had been out gathering food for the two of them when she heard someone in the woods.

Investigating the sounds she'd seen a strange woman with the man's dog in the clearing where the bear had attacked him. Watching for a minute she had seen the woman pick something up off the ground and then turn to talk to the dog. Not wanting them to find the man and take him away from her, she hurried back to the cave to do everything she could to try and keep him from being found.

A short time later she watched the woman and the dog from behind the curtain of water. They walked around awhile and then left. She was once again alone with the man.

It wasn't until she was cooking their supper that the man opened his eyes again. She felt his gaze on her as soon as he woke and she turned to look at him.

"Hello again," AJ said and then because he's always been a proper and respectful person, he asked her, "Don't you have any clothes to put on?"

She nodded at him and got up to go over to the wall of the cave where he had seen before that she kept her stored items. Coming back to him she laid the torn and bloody remnants of his sweats next to him.

Realizing that she had once again misunderstood him, he still found a corner of his brain that marveled at how he'd survived the bear attack after seeing his clothes. The thought of clothes brought back something he'd discovered the last time he'd been awake but was too out of it to do anything about. He carefully pulled up the bearskin, not to uncover too much of himself, revealing his feet that were still encased in his running shoes and socks. "Why did you remove all my clothes, but not take these off?" he asked.

Frowning, she moved to his feet and pulled on his shoes. Nothing happened except that AJ groaned as this action pulled on his leg injury. She looked up at him in confusion and then down at the shoes again. Once again she pulled on them and AJ waved his hand at her to try and get her to stop while saying, "Please don't do that." He struggled to sit up and when she saw that, she quickly moved to help him. Leaning over careful not to loose his grip on the bearskin, AJ undid the Velcro closure on the shoes and loosed them enough so that they would come off easily.

Picking up one shoe she played with the Velcro closing and opening it again and again. She was like a child with a new toy and was smiling from ear to ear when she looked up at him. Laughing even though it hurt his stomach wounds, AJ took delight at in the joy on her face over something so simple.

Looking up at his laughter she cocked her head sidewayr and gave him a smile. AJ was captivated. She was so sweet and giving, taking care of him as she was. He wondered about her age, from the looks of her she could have been anywhere between her mid-twenties to mid to late thirties. But she was so childlike in her delight of the Velcro and she misunderstood some of the simplest things. Who was she? And why was she….naked?!

Maybe he could be forgiven for his slow uptake of her identity because of his injuries, but he was mentally kicking himself for not seeing it earlier. She was the McLean Woodland Nymph!

To be continued...


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Back at the house, Mac decided that it was time to call the police. With AJ missing at least forty-eight hours, and likely more than that, plus the sample in her pocket, that she was pretty sure was blood; she needed to alert the local authorities. Placing the call from AJ's house, she easily reached the McLean police. After explaining why she was calling, the officer that she'd been speaking to told her that he was going to transfer her. He didn't tell her where or why she was being transferred, just that she was. "Chief Xytell," the voice answered. "How may I help you?"

"I'm not quite sure why I was transferred to you Chief. I called in a missing person report. I'm Colonel Sarah Mackenzie and Admiral AJ Chegwidden has been missing since sometime this weekend," Mac told him.

"That's probably why you were transferred to me Colonel. AJ and I go way back, he was my CO on the Farragut when I was in the Navy. You say he's missing? How do you know this?"

"I work with the Admiral, I'm his Chief of Staff and he hasn't been in to work since Friday. He wouldn't just disappear like this without telling someone on his staff."

"You're right, that doesn't sound like AJ. Has anyone checked his house to see if he might be there and hurt or sick?"

"Yes I did that last night and I'm calling from there now. I took his dog out in the woods behind the house today to see if he might have been running there over the weekend and met with an accident."

When Mac paused for a breath Chief Xytell asked, "Did you find anything?"

"Well not him or I wouldn't be calling, but there was a small clearing Dammit led me to and I found what I think is blood. I picked up a sample, but I'm sure Dammit and I could find our way back there if you would send an officer to check it out."

"It's going to be dark soon especially in those woods, but I would like to come out and take a look around. Can you stay till I get there?"

"Of course, I was just about to order a pizza so I'll be here for a bit," Mac told him.

"Antonelli's is the best pizza in town. Why don't you tell me what you like and I could pick it up on my way out there?"

"Oh I couldn't let you do that!"

"Sure you could! I haven't eaten all day, I missed lunch, and pizza sounds good. If you'd allow me to share it with you….unless you have someone that would be upset if you shared a meal with a lonely old cop?" he asked with a chuckle.

'Darn,' Mac thought, 'and he sounded cute! To bad he was old, oh well.' With a sigh she answered him, "No, no one to care who I eat with. I'd be happy to share a pizza with you."

"Wonderful. Now what do you like on yours?"

"Meat," she replied.

"And?" he asked with a laugh.

"More meat," Mac laughed too.

"We seem to have the same tastes," he told her. "I'll call it in and be at AJ's in about a half an hour."

She sighed again, thinking it was too bad he was old. It had been a long time since she'd had a date with a man as nice as he sounded. "I'll see you then," Mac said and ended the call.

While she waited for Chief Xytell and the pizza to arrive Mac made the rounds of AJ's house. She watered the few plants that he had and then went through his refrigerator to throw away anything that was spoiled. Mac also put some of the things in the freezer knowing that way they would keep for his return, and she had to keep hoping that he would return! Even though she didn't have a sense of him in danger, and she feared that meant he was dead, she wouldn't let herself dwell on that. Until she had proof otherwise she was going to continue to believe that he was alive!

To be continued...


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Hearing a car pull up in AJ's driveway Mac went to the door with Dammit at her heels, just as she had been since they returned from their walk in the woods. Mac watched as Steve Xytell got out of his personal vehicle, a midnight blue Corvette. As he stood up, he just seemed to keep going and going! He had to be at least six feet seven inches tall, he was easily taller than Harm or the Admiral and he must have been almost three hundred pounds of sheer muscle. Built like a football player he was an impressive sight. However, he had lied to her!

Steve Xytell was not old. He looked to be in his mid forties. At the most about ten years older than she was. He was a sandy blonde haired, green eyed Adonis! He grinned at her as he came up onto the porch so she could see dimples, and he drove a Vette! To top it all off he was carrying a pizza loaded with meat. He was a perfect man!

"Colonel Mackenzie?" he asked.

"Sarah," she acknowledged wondering to herself why she hadn't introduced herself as 'Mac' as she usually did. Then with a shake of her head she asked, "And you're the old man of the pizza?"

With a laugh he said, "Why don't you make it Steve, Sarah?"

Grinning at him and leading him into the house she said, "That sounds fine Steve. The sample I told you about is there on the table." Mac watched as he put the pizza down and then greeted Dammit before picking up the tissue.

Looking at it he told her, "It does look like blood, but I'll take it into the lab and have it tested. The Navy has AJ's blood type on record so we should be able to match it if it's his. Can you take me out to where you found this in the morning Sarah?"

"I'll just need to make a couple of calls to shuffle some things around, but I don't see it being a problem. You seem quite familiar with Dammit."

"Yeah, like I said AJ and I go way back. I've been here several times."

"Then I don't need to tell you to make yourself at home. What would you like to drink?"

"AJ should have some beer, let me grab us a couple."

"No I don't drink alcohol…..I'll just have a soda."

"Oh, I'm sorry Sarah, soda is fine for me too," Steve told her standing at the fridge.

"Its alright, you have what you like it doesn't bother me."

"Soda is just fine," he insisted and grabbed two Cokes, carrying them to the table while Mac got plates and napkins.

Smiling at each other, they sat down and began to eat. Steve watched, as Sarah held her own polishing off the large pizza. Then he remembered that she was a Marine and understood. They chatted pleasantly until the conversation came back to AJ and he could see how concerned she was about her boss. "Sarah, can I ask you something personal?"

Giving him a questioning look she said, "Sure go ahead."

"Do you have feelings for AJ other than as your CO?"

"Of course not! Whatever gave you that idea?" she demanded incredulously.

"You seem so worried about him…"

"So do you!" she accused.

"Yes, but he and I are friends."

"So are he and I! The JAG staff is like a family. We all look out for each other."

"Alright I just had to know," Steve told her.

"Why?" Mac asked.

"Because AJ is my friend and…" Steve hesitated.

"Yes?" she was truly intrigued now.

He seemed almost shy as he said, "I didn't want to step on any toes if I asked you out when we've found him and everything is okay."

"Oh!" Mac responded, startled that he had been thinking along those lines.

"Have I upset or offended you Sarah? Believe me that wasn't my intention!" he asked in earnest.

"No, I was just startled. I'd love to go out with you when all this is settled."

"Wonderful! And I'll be sure to give AJ a hard time for putting a hold on our dating when we find him and he's home safe and sound."

With a light laugh she told him, "Oh I'm sure that will go over well!"

To be continued...


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

When they both finished laughing, Mac asked, "What time did you want to head out in the morning? I was going to take Dammit home with me so she wouldn't be here all alone, but I can leave her overnight if I'll be back in the morning."

"I want to get a very early start. Unless you live nearby, why don't you spend the night here?" Steve suggested.

"I hadn't thought of that, but I guess I could."

"Great, then how about we head out as soon as its light?"

"Sounds great, I'll be ready," Mac told him.

AJ was ashamed of himself for not realizing earlier that his caretaker was the McLean Woodland Nymph. He wished he knew her name and didn't understand why she wouldn't talk to him and he wondered if she couldn't talk. Deciding to try again AJ said, "Darlin', why don't you put that shoe down and talk to me?"

She looked up at him and smiled and AJ responded by tapping his chest and saying, "AJ." He pointed towards her and asked, "What's your name?"

Tapping her own chest she grinned at him and said, "AJ."

"No, my name is AJ, what's yours?"

Giggling at him, she tapped his naked chest and this of course caused AJ to realize that the bearskin had slipped. Pulling it back up over himself he heard her say, "AJ" as she was tapping his chest. Giving her a wide grin of approval he nodded and said, "Yes, and what's your name?" as he pointed at her.

Leaning her head to one side she frowned at him severely and then she closed her eyes. AJ realized that it looked like she was trying to remember something. After a few moments her eyes popped open and she proudly pointed to herself and said, "Lena." (Lay na) With a smile AJ held out his hand offering to shake hers saying, "I'm very pleased to met you Lena."

Lena took the hand that he offered turned it over in hers a few times, then laying down next to him placed his hand under her cheek and went to sleep.

AJ lay there looking at the girl he had just found out was named Lena and wondered what her story was. Before he could reason out all the stories he'd heard about the Nymph he felt himself drifting off to sleep too.

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

0600 EST

AJ's home

McLean, Virginia

Mac was up, showered, and dressed by the time Steve got to AJ's house that morning. She was waiting at the door with a steaming hot mug of coffee. She smiled as he practically grabbed it out of her hand and taking a deep whiff, took a cautious sip because of the temperature.

"Wow! You sure can make coffee!" he exclaimed as he took another sip.

"It's usually too strong for most people," Mac replied pleased that it wasn't so for Steve.

"I like my coffee like I like my women…..strong."

Grinning Mac said, "I'll remember that."

"Are you ready to go?" Steve asked.

Lifting her pack of supplies, which included a thermos with the rest of the coffee, she'd made, Mac grabbed Dammit's leash with the other hand and said, "Yes all ready."

The three of them set off and made good time to the clearing where AJ had been attacked. Steve looked over the area carefully and after a few minutes, told Mac with a frown, "I'm sure now that the sample you gave me is blood and as soon as I get it into the lab this morning we'll see if it's AJ's, but this doesn't look good."

"What do you think happened?" Mac asked him trying to keep a hold on Dammit who seemed to want to head off in the opposite direction from the way she had gone yesterday when she led Mac to the waterfall.

"It looks like it was a bear attack, and a pretty bad one at that."

As Mac tried to take that information in, Steve took Dammit's leash from her saying, "It seems she wants to show us something."

"Yeah, but yesterday she took me the other way to a waterfall. She might be on another wild goose chase."

"Or she might be chasing the McLean Woodland Nymph," Steve chuckled as he let Dammit lead them away from the clearing.

To be continued...


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"The McLean Woodland Nymph? What or who is that?"

"It's a local legend around here, like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster. Hunters and hikers have claimed to see a beautiful naked female roaming these woods for several years now. But no one has brought back any proof, and it seems that she only appears to men."

Giving him an indulgent look, Mac still couldn't keep from playing devil's advocate, "Yes, but aren't the huge majority of hunters, males? And with these woods mostly being private property, couldn't it be that the hikers are young men trying to find out if the legend is true?"

"So you believe our Nymph exists?"

"Ever since I could point out places on a map where to find people I cared about that were in danger, I've found I view things with a lot less skepticism."

"So you have what my grandmother would call 'the second sight'?"

"It has only happened twice and only with people close to me, so I can't make any great claims."

"You care about AJ, why no 'sight' of him?"

"That's what I'm afraid of….both the people I told you about were found alive…." Mac trailed off as she spotted something ahead of them on the ground. Hurrying forward, she picked up a ripped and torn, blood stained pair of navy blue sweat pants. Holding them in her hand Mac looked down and gasped, "Oh God."

Steve came closer to look at the garment she'd found, as Dammit jumped about excitedly trying to get a hold of what was in Mac's hands. She leaned down to show Dammit what it was and the dog began barking and pulling at her lead. Still pulling them away from the clearing she led then several more feet until they came across another garment lying on the ground. This time it was a gray sweatshirt with black lettering that said, 'GO NAVY' on the front. "Oh God," Mac said clutching it to her chest and looking up at Steve saying, "This has to be AJ's. He must be dead."

"Saaraah," Steve drug out her name before continuing, "Look at the clothes again."

Pulling them away from her body, Mac did as requested and said, "They're all torn and bloody. What am I not seeing?"

"Yes they are," he replied. "But although they are ripped and torn they're not shredded, so unless the bear undressed AJ, it's likely they were removed by some other means."

She looked up at him with a skeptical glance and asked, "So you think this naked nymph of the woods wandered by, saw that AJ had been attacked by a bear, proceeded to strip him, and then carried him off to her lair?"

"So I guess we need to add to the annals of the wood nymph legend, that she is a sex starved she-bear," laughed Steve.

"No," Mac said. "My suggestion was that she had come by AFTER he'd been attacked."

"She waited in the woods until the bear finished with him before taking her turn?"

Getting a little huffy at this point Mac said, "If you're not willing to take this seriously maybe I need to talk to someone else about it."

"I sorry Sarah, I apologize if you think I'm not taking this seriously, AJ is my friend and nothing is more important to me than finding him."

"I know; I just let my fear take hold of me."

Steve placed an arm around Mac's shoulder to comfort her at the thought of losing AJ. Dammit took that lack of attention to her advantage and wandered away to sniff at the nearby area. She came back quickly to Mac and Steve with something white between her teeth. Steve bent down at took it from Dammit then looked up at Mac with a wry grin, "You don't happen to know what kind of undergarments AJ's favors do you?"

Mac indigently began to demand; "Just why in the world would you think I'd know..." she stopped when she saw a pair of white briefs in Steve's hand. Taking them from him she noticed that there was blood on the front waistband, "We really need to find him," she told Steve. "From the looks of these clothes he's lost a lot of blood."

To be continued...


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"I agree," Steve told her. "I think we should head back now. I'm going to go into the office and get a search party started."

"As much as I would like to be a part of that, I really do need to get back to the office this morning, but if there is anything at all I can do to help please let me know."

Looking at her he said, "I know you were planning on taking Dammit home with you, but I think she might be of help in finding him, so if you'll let me keep her I could bring her by your place this evening."

"Of course, she knows and trusts you, that's fine."

When they got back to the house Mac gave him her address so he could return Dammit to her that evening and all of the phone numbers that she could be reached at if he needed to contact her at anytime.

AJ woke to the smell of something cooking, his stomach growled at the wonderful aroma. Lena smiled to see that he was awake and brought a chipped mug full of whatever it was she had made. Handing him a tarnished, but clean looking silver spoon, she helped him sit up and then indicated that he should eat.

Although the stew could have benefited from some seasoning and salt, it was tasty and filling. Halfway through the mug, he looked up to find she was watching him. He could sense that Lena was eager for his approval and willingly gave it. "This is wonderful!" he told her.

"One der full?" she questioned.

"Good….it's good," he said and seeing the smile that came across her face he knew she understood. Again he was struck by how childlike she was in so many ways. "Who are you really my little Nymph? I bet Bud could find out who you are Lena."

Smiling at the sound of her name on his lips, she pointed to herself nodding, "Lena," she said and then pointing to him she proudly announced, "AJ!"

The thought of Bud reminded him that he had responsibilities he needed to get back to, a job and a dog that needed to be fed. AJ didn't know how long he'd been in the woods, but surely someone was missing him by now, could even be looking for him. Looking around for his clothes and not seeing them, he asked Lena, "Where are my clothes?"

She had just reached out to take the empty mug from him and was looking at it when she said, "All gone."

"Yes, I ate it all. It was very good, but I need my clothes, I have to get home."

"Home!" she said and pointed to the cave.

"I know this is your home…well not your original one I'm sure, but nonetheless your home now. However this is not my home, and I need to get back to it, and to do that I need my clothes."

"All gone," she said again.

"No that was the stew that was gone, you gave me my clothes the last time I was awake, where did you put them?"

"All gone!" Lena insisted.

AJ was becoming a bit frustrated now at not being able to make her understand. He figured he would need to get up and search for them himself. The trick was going to be how to get up and keep the bearskin in place to preserve his dignity? Trying to get his legs under him despite the pain in the leg that had been clawed, he almost passed out before he could get them curled up under him in an attempt to stand.

Seeing what he was trying to do, Lena moved to his side, but instead of trying to help him stand, she placed her hands on his shoulders holding him down. "No!" she told him.

"I need to find my clothes," he groaned in pain and frustration; as he sank back straightening his legs once again.

"ALL GONE!"

"My clothes are gone?" he questioned her finally realizing that she might not be talking about the stew after all.

Nodding her head that he finally understood, she grinned and said once again, "All gone!" while making a motion as if she were throwing them out of the cave.

To be continued...


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Mac returned to the office that morning reluctant to report what she and Steve had found, but as she had told Steve, these people were all like a family and they deserved to know what was going on. As she had expected everyone was extremely concerned with the evidence and wanted to help in the search for the Admiral. Mac informed them that she would allow any of them to go and help out when ever they were not busy with JAG business.

Harm had managed to clear his afternoon and told Mac that he was heading out to McLean to help in the search. She wished him well and told him to keep her updated. Finally clearing up the last of the things that HAD to be dealt with that day, she was just about to change back into her jeans and head to McLean herself when her cell phone rang. "Hello," she answered.

"Sarah, its Steve Xytell. I was wondering how soon you would be done for the day?"

"I just finished and was coming out to join in the search. Have you found him?"

"No I'm sorry we haven't yet. I was calling to see when you would be home so I could bring Dammit by."

"Why? I thought you wanted her to help in the search. You're not giving up already are you?" she was almost afraid to hear the answer to her last question.

"No, but Dammit is proving to be of no use at all. She keeps leading us to that waterfall you told me about and even though we have searched the entire area several times we've found no trace of him there. Dammit is hampering our efforts to get other areas searched with her insistence in going back to the falls."

"But you're sure that he's not there?"

"Positive Sarah, we've covered the area at least four times."

"Well I guess I can head home now if you want to bring her over. Have you eaten? I could pick something up for dinner if you like?"

"No, I haven't eaten and dinner sounds fine, but I'd be happy to pick up what ever you'd like," he offered.

"You picked up the pizza last night and wouldn't even let me pay you back for it when you got there!" Mac protested.

"When a guy asks a girl on a date, he doesn't let her pay," Steve informed her.

"But you didn't ask me out silly! If you did anything, you just invited yourself over for dinner, but the fact was I had been going to order a pizza anyway and you could have at least let me pay for half of it. So since you didn't, the least you can do now is let me get dinner tonight."

"All right, all right….you win!" he chuckled.

"Do you like ribs or would you prefer Italian?" Mac asked.

"I like both, so whatever you're in the mood for."

"Ribs it is then. I'll see you at my place as soon as you can get there. Do you need directions?"

"I'm a cop, we're used to finding places," he told her with a cocky lilt to his voice.

She smiled as they said good-bye and hoped that the Admiral was found soon. Not only did she want him to be safe, but she also wanted to go out on that date Steve had talked about once he was.

Earlier in the Day

Lena heard the dog outside the cave once again after AJ had fallen asleep. She looked back at him with a worried frown when she first heard the rescue party getting closer, but he didn't wake and she was glad. She liked having him in her home.

They stayed around the waterfall for quite some time and she feared that they would spot the cave. The man's…AJ's dog kept trying to pull them closer to the falls. Then they were gone. Lena didn't know why, but they had left and not come back, and that made her glad too. It wasn't too long after they had left the area that AJ woke hungry once again.

To be continued...


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Not wanting to draw the attention of the search parties back to the cave, Lena knew that the best way to avoid that would be not to start a fire. She went over to her store of supplies and brought him back more of the nuts and berries that she had given him that first day. Both ate their fill in companionable silence. Bringing him the mug he had used that morning full of water she watched him drink. When he finished she brought back more, but he waved it away telling her he was finished. Lena smiled and finished the water herself.

Then picking up a bowl went to the falls and filled it. Returning to his side she pulled the bear skin away before AJ realized what she was planning. Grabbing it back, he dragged it across his lap as she tried to take it away from him. Gesturing to the bowl and cloth she had, she made motions indicating that it was time for his bath.

AJ told Lena, "I have been bathing myself since I was six years old!"

She smiled at him and said, "Bath," then reached to take the bearskin away again.

"I will bath...I mean bathe myself."

Keeping her fist tight around the cloth, even as AJ tried to take it from her, she insisted, "I do."

"No, I will bathe myself," AJ said slowly.

"NO! I DO!" she told him firmly.

AJ still held firm to the bearskin and shook his head 'no'.

Glaring at him for defying her, Lena got to her feet and dumped the bowl of water over his head, then left the cave.

AJ sat there alone and dripping, staring at the retreating figure of the girl he had upset. He shook his head and the water flew around him and wondered if maybe Lena were Italian. Her temper reminded him very much of his ex-wife.

He didn't know how long she had left him alone in the cave, but it seemed like hours until she came back. This was just one more time that he wished he had  
Mac's sense of time, then he might even know what day it was, and how long since the bear attack.

Lena went to check on what was going on with the people looking for AJ. She wanted to see what they were doing, and as she crouched in the bushes watching one group she heard something rustling in the brush behind her. Standing and spinning on her heel she saw a tall dark haired, blue-eyed man. Before he had a chance to react to the sight before him, she turned and ran off.

She could hear the man that had seen her call out to the others as she ran, but she didn't stop. Running away from the cave at first and then when she was sure she wasn't being followed, slowly making her way back to it.

Harm's call of, "Hey over here!" brought several of the other searchers running to his side.

On of the deputies asked, "What is it? Did you find something?"

"I saw a naked girl right there in the bushes!" Harm told them.

Giving him a skeptical look the deputy said, "Sure you did! You do know that we're searching for a very important man don't you?" he demanded.

"Yeah I know! He's my boss!"

"Well then why are you taking us away from the search with this nonsense?"

"But I really did see her!" Harm exclaimed. 

Shaking their heads, the searchers that had hurried to him at his call walked off resuming the search for Admiral Chegwidden once again. For the rest of the day whenever one of them was near Harm they teased him about what he claimed to have seen. As they took a break one of them told Harm about the legend of the McLean Woodland Nymph and that hikers and hunters had been seeing this mythical woman for years.

Harm shook his head and insisted that he had seen her much to the delight of the other searchers. Word of this got back to Steve Xytell before he made his call to Sarah that evening and he took delight in the thought of telling her that one of her co-workers had seen the Nymph. He wondered what she would say about that!

To be continued...


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Stopping at the Rib Haven, Mac picked up a couple of racks each of pork and beef ribs since she hadn't asked Steve what kind he preferred. She figured she could eat any leftovers later in the week. She also stopped by the grocery store to pick up fixings for a salad and some dog food for Dammit. Since Chloe had taken Jingo to live with her, Mac hadn't needed any, until now.

Arriving home she put the oven on low to keep the ribs warm, then took a quick shower and put on a pair of coral colored cotton shorts and a matching sleeveless top. She had just started putting the salad together when Steve and Dammit arrived.

Mac opened the door to find him standing there with Dammit's leash in one hand and a single yellow rose in the other. "Hello," he greeted her, handing her the rose.

"Hello yourself," she replied, and after taking the rose and inhaling its intoxicating aroma, she added, "This is lovely, thank you."

"I could only try to find something to compare to your beauty. This rose is only a poor reflection of it."

Inviting him in, she said, "I know the Navy didn't teach you to talk that way and I somehow doubt it was a part of your cop training…."

"My parents died in a fire when I was very young and I was raised by my granny, who taught me to treat all women like ladies and to say what was in my heart. It has always seemed like good advice in the past."

"She must have been an amazing woman," Mac smiled as she led her guest into the kitchen where she placed her rose in a vase and then went back to work on the salad.

Steve washed his hands and then started to help her as he replied, "She still is. Granny is a spry ninety-three and lives in a small guesthouse I built for her behind my place when I moved here to McLean. She lost Gramps the year before my folks died so it's just been the two of us against the world for quite some time now."

"You never married?" Mac questioned.

"I came close once, but in the end we discovered we were just too different. What about you?"

"I married very young and we were separated for years before he died. I've been engaged twice since then, but neither of them worked out," Mac answered.

They finished the salad both lost in thought wondering if the other could overcome their past to find happiness in the future. Carrying the food to the table, Mac offered a drink choice of Coke, tea, or coffee. Steve asked for tea with his meal and coffee for after.

Steve filled her in on how the search had gone while they ate, but saved the best for last. As Mac served the coffee in her living room, he began to tell her of how her co-worker had seen the McLean Woodland Nymph.

She laughed along with him and told him that if anyone had seen a naked woman in the woods it would have been Harm. Mac knew she would get a lot of mileage out of this information the next day at JAG. Her only decision was whether to get him when he came in or wait until the staff meeting when everyone was there together to join in the fun.

They talked of many things as they drank their coffee and before long the subject returned to AJ, and Mac's feelings of dread that they wouldn't find him alive because she had no sense of him in danger.

"You care for him a great deal don't you Sarah?"

"Yes I do. I was confused for a long while about all the relationships in my life, I didn't know how to draw the proper boundaries around others and myself. One night at a party at his house, AJ almost kissed me. I don't know if it was because I was giving off some kind of signals or what, but he got this close to me," Mac stopped and brought her face as close to Steve's as AJ's had been to hers that night in his bedroom, then she continued to speak, "He paused….stopped really, and then pulled back and after the next morning he tried to explain that it shouldn't have happened we've never spoken of it again. Our relationship has always just been friendly since then."

To be continued...


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Her face was still inches from Steve's when Mac stopped speaking and he looked deeply into her eyes. "I wouldn't have stopped," he whispered almost against her lips and then he crossed the tiny space between them and brought their lips together.

As first kisses went, this one was very nearly perfect. Steve wasn't too aggressive or sloppy. His lips were firm yet tender and he didn't take liberties as if they were his right. He kissed and nibbled at her lips until Mac was ready to moan in frustration. When the tip of his tongue came out to tentatively caress her lips, she immediately opened them and welcomed his tongue inside her mouth.

They took turns sharing each other's mouths, one moment they both shared hers and then as his tongue retreated hers gave chase until they shared space in his mouth. When they finally broke the kiss and drew shuddering breaths, they sat there staring at each other. Both were stunned at how the kiss had affected them.

Steve brought his hand up and gently caressed her cheek, "You're so very beautiful Sarah."

Smiling, she turned her head just enough to kiss the palm of his hand before telling him, "Thank you, and I find you incredibly attractive as well Steve Xytell." As he started to move forward to take her into his arms for another kiss, Mac added, "That however is a problem for me right now. All I can think of is 'if you can turn me on as much as you have with just one kiss, what else could you do?!' and that thought is tempting me to ask you to stay the night. Unfortunately, I don't think I would respect myself in the morning even if the night was as amazing as I'm sure it would be."

"I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about making love to you, but you're right, it is too soon for us. And while I agree that a night with you would be wonderful beyond belief, I want more than just one night with you. Someone as special as you are is worth waiting for and when the time is right, I'm sure we'll both know it."

"Thank you for understanding Steve, I'd like to think that we could have more than just a one night fling too. It's good to know we're thinking along time same lines."

With a tender smile, he got to his feet and said, "I agree and on that note, I should say good night because it is a bit of a drive home and I have another early morning ahead with the search party."

Walking him to the door Mac told him, "I won't be able to join you in the morning, but I'll head out at the start of my lunch hour and be there for the rest of the day."

"Wonderful, I'll look forward to seeing you and will pack enough lunch for two." A brief kiss was all he would allow himself before taking his leave.

Mac stood there staring at the closed door with her fingertips pressed against her lips as if to hold his kiss in place. It was Dammit nudging up against her that finally got her moving again. Stripping down to her panties, she pulled on her long sleep T-shirt and started to climb into her lonely bed only to find it was occupied!

Giving Dammit a resigned look Mac said, "I'm pretty sure that the Admiral doesn't let you sleep with him, but tonight the company would be welcome. However I don't share my pillow with _anyone_ , and you're on my side…so move over or shove off." Mac watched as Dammit moved to the other side of the bed just as if she had understood every word Mac had said.

After setting her alarm Mac was asleep within moments. Even the sound of the dog snoring next to her couldn't keep her awake as tired as she was. All she had time for was the pleasant thought of seeing Steve again the next day before she was asleep.

To be continued...


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

When Lena returned to the cave after her abrupt departure, several hours had passed. During that time AJ had tried again and again to stand. Finally he had given up in frustration admitting that his leg just wasn't healed enough to allow him to get up yet. He wished he had some way of knowing how long it have been since he'd been attacked and that he had some way of letting people know where he was.

AJ would never quite get used to Lena running around nude as she did, but he could now look at it as just who she was, or how circumstances had made her, at any rate. If he could get Lena to understand the message and repeat it, he was still left with the fact that he didn't want her walking into some place naked to deliver it. Even though she was the one that had saved his life, he felt protective of her.

AJ could just imagine his friend Chief of Police Steve Xytell's face if Lena walked into the station. He and AJ had many good laughs over the latest Nymph sightings. Now here he was living with her in her cave. He had to admit that she was real and not a myth, and AJ wondered how Steve would react to that news.

Lena made a show of ignoring AJ when she returned to the cave that evening. She picked up the bowl and cloth she had been going to use to bathe him and put them away, and then she walked to the cave entrance and began to take a shower in the waterfall. She didn't have any soap or shampoo, but it was clear that she was cleaning herself. Combing her hands through her waist length hair and running her hands over every inch of her body, AJ could not help but be affected by the sight.

He tried to control himself, but it had been quite some time since he'd been with a woman. In fact it had been since his break up with Meredith. Finding Meredith and the professor like he had, had put him off women and the thought of any further relationships. But the sight of this attractive woman/child showering, was having a decided effect on him. He had always loved having sex in the shower anyway, so he was nearly lost at the enticing view she presented.

Turning his head away from Lena, AJ filled his mind with thoughts of work. Picturing Harm, Sturgis, and Bud was enough to finally get his libido under control.

Looking over at AJ as she finished washing herself Lena saw that he wasn't even watching her. How could he tell that she was ignoring him if he wasn't even paying attention to her? Miffed at AJ, she wondered how she could get back at him and then her tummy growled. It was dinnertime and she would not feed him!

Knowing that the searchers were gone by now because the sun had set, Lena started a fire and began to roast the rabbit she had caught earlier that day. Out of the corner of her eye she could tell that she had AJ's interest now. The aroma of the cooking rabbit filled the small cave and she heard AJ's stomach rumble too. Taking the rabbit off the spit, she let it cool just a bit as she went to get a plate and fork from her storage area.

AJ was surprised when she didn't bring him any of the rabbit until he realized that she was still angry with him. His usual methods of apologizing to a woman when he had upset her were not available to him in his current circumstances. He would normally send flowers with an appropriate verse of poetry, or take the lady out for a romantic dinner and over a bottle of expensive wine make his apology. Hardly able to move because of his injuries, topped off with the fact that he only had a bearskin to cover himself, AJ was at a loss as to what to do in this situation.

How did you make a child, for that is how she seemed in her reasoning, with a mother-complex, because that was how she was acting towards him, understand that he was a man and not a child to be cared for? Granted she had somehow managed to get him here to this cave after the attack and he knew that was at least a good quarter mile that she had to drag an unconscious full-grown man. Then she tended his wounds, making sure the bleeding had stopped and some how had prevented all of the injuries from becoming infected.

To be continued...


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

All that impressed AJ greatly about Lena, but he still wondered at her story. How had she gotten here in the woods? How old had she been at the time, and how had she managed to survive all that time alone? Why had she kept herself hidden all these years instead of going up to one of the many people that had seen her and asking for help? But even if all these questions had been answered that would still not tell him how to get himself out of this situation. He had upset this kind and generous woman/child to the point where she wasn't going to feed him and somehow he had to find a way to make her understand that he was sorry.

AJ decided to try the direct approach with her and said, "Lena, I'm sorry I made you mad, I'm just not used to anyone else giving me a bath."

She looked over at him as if she were considering his words, but because of previous attempts at getting her to understand he couldn't be sure what was going on in her head. When she just nodded, he still didn't know. It wasn't until she got up and went over to where the rest of the rabbit was that he had some indication she understood him.

Placing the food in front of him and bringing him a full cup of water as well, Lena patted his shoulder and said, "Eat, it good."

And she was right, it was good. Again, like the stew, it could have used some seasoning and salt, but it was cooked just right. Juicy and tender with that wonderful smoky cooked outdoors flavor, it made AJ wonder again about Lena's background and how she had managed to learn to survive out here.

Sometime after the two of them had fallen asleep, it began to rain causing the temperature to drop. AJ vaguely heard Lena say, "Cold," and felt her join him under the bearskin before he was once again sound asleep. When he woke, they were snuggled together as cozy as if they'd been sleeping like that for years. However it had been a long time since AJ had awakened with a woman in his arms and being the normal red-blooded man that he was, this coziness of theirs was causing a reaction that he wasn't at all willing to try and explain to Lena.

He tried to move away from her so his erection wasn't pressing against her, but she only felt his bodyheat leaving and with a protesting murmur she moved even closer to him.

Thursday, May 26, 2005

0900 EST

JAG Headquarters

Falls Church, Virginia

After the morning staff meeting was over Mac asked everyone to stay for just a moment asking Harm for an update on the search from the day before. When he finished his report, without mentioning the nymph sighting, Mac asked, "Wasn't there something else Harm?"

"I don't know what you mean Mac?" Harm asked truly puzzled.

"Well I was told you did find something….."

Realizing what she was talking about Harm frowned at her and demanded, "How did you hear about that?"

"Oh, I have my ways," she told him coyly.

"If you saw something please tell us," said Bud.

"Yes Harm, don't keep us in dark about the naked woman you saw in the woods," laughed Mac.

Bud's eyes popped wide open, while Sturgis rolled his.

"I don't care what you guys think! I did see her. Do you really think that I would jeopardize the search for the Admiral by making a claim like that if it wasn't true? Not only that, but no one had even told me that silly story until after I said I'd seen her."

It dawned on Mac that Harm was telling the truth; he would never endanger the Admiral's safety at the cost of playing a practical joke. Then the question was, if he had really seen her, what was a naked woman doing in the woods, and why was she there watching from the bushes? Maybe she had seen the Admiral.

Knowing that she needed to call Steve right away, Mac dismissed everyone and headed to AJ's office. Placing the call to Steve's cell she was frustrated by the fact that she couldn't get through. Resigning herself to the fact that she would be seeing him in a few hours she knew that her information would have to wait.

To be continued...


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Wishing the hours in the day would move faster, it was one of those times that Mac regretted her precise-to-the-minute time-sense. Finally, without looking at the clock she knew that her lunch break had arrived. Hurrying from the office, she told Coates where she was going, and that she might not be available by cell phone, but that she would check her messages as often as she could. Mac left the office, leaving Harm in charge for the rest of the afternoon.

Driving quickly, but carefully Mac pulled her car into AJ's driveway and started into the woods to meet up with the searchers. Finding a deputy in the first group she came upon, Mac asked him if he knew where Steve might be, telling him she was supposed to meet Steve for lunch. The deputy told her that the local Jaycee ladies had set up a lunch tent in the backyard of the old abandoned Davis house.

"Abandoned house?" she asked him her lawyer curiously stirred.

"Yeah, the story goes that it belonged to a family that disappeared decades ago, but it's been empty as long as I've been alive," he told her.

Thanking him, Mac hurried off in the direction she had been pointed only to find that Steve was just arriving from the opposite direction. The smile that lit up his face when he saw her pleased Mac more than she would have expected it to.

"Hello gorgeous," Steve said leaning down and kissing Mac's cheek.

"Hi yourself big guy, how goes the search?"

With a weary look upon Steve's face he told her, "Still no luck."

"I might have something of interest for you. This morning I was teasing Harm about his nymph sighting and he told me that he'd never even heard of the legend until after he saw her. So he couldn't have been just claiming to be the latest person to see the Nymph."

"What would that have to do with our search?" asked Steve.

"What I'm trying to say is, Harm must really seen her and if he did then we have to wonder who she is? Also, why she was in the woods, naked? And could she have seen the Admiral?"

Steve, shaking his head sadly, he told her the story, "The local legend is that she's the runaway Davis girl and that her parents, overcome with grief, left town when she ran off. But that was when I was about ten so all of that is just hearsay."

"Well I'm convinced that if Harm said he saw her, he did, so we need to see if we can figure out what's really going on."

"And how do you suggest we do that Sarah? Question people that left town thirty years ago? Even if we could find them they might be dead by now."

"Your deputy said that this was the old Davis house, right?" At his nod she continued. "And I'm assuming that it would be the same Davis' you were talking about?" Again Steve nodded. "Well then," Mac said, "I suggest we start here."

Grabbing him by the hand, she pulled him over to the back door, which she found locked. With a grin she headed to the closest window and tried it. Discovering that all the windows she tried were locked, Mac was not to be deterred. She made it around to the patio doors without finding anyway inside. Giving Steve a cheeky grin she said, "I hope you won't arrest me for this?" Then she put her elbow through the glass in the back door that she had come back around to.

"Sarah! What do you think you're doing? You are lucky this place is abandoned. However, I may still have to use the handcuffs on you later," he grinned down at her.

"Well I had been going to insist that it was probably vandals that had done it, but if we're talking handcuffs, I might have to rethink that." She left Steve staring at her in open mouth amazement as she opened the door and went inside. The kitchen was pretty much as she had expected an abandoned house's rooms to look. Steve had not quite caught up to her when she rounded the corner and stopped dead at the sight that waited for her in the dining room. On the table were the dusty cobweb-coated remains of what looked like a pretty fancy meal. When Steve joined her in the room she said, "Most people don't up and leave town with a meal still on the table."

To be continued...


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Nodding at her, Steve agreed that she was right. This was certainly odd. Determined to gather more information, Mac spun on her heels and headed for the stairs. The first room at the top of the stairs had obviously belonged to a pampered little girl. It could have been a room designed for a princess. Pink lace and ruffles were covered in dust, but Mac could tell at that at one time this had probably been a little girl's dream room.

Not finding anything more of interest, she was off down the hall to check on the rest of the rooms. What she found in the master bedroom once again stopped her in her tracks. There on the bed lay a skeleton and in the chair next to the bed there was draped another. Calling out hoarsely to Steve, who was still in the hall, she said, "I don't think the Davis' left town after all."

Coming into the room, Steve walked over to the bed and looked down at the skeleton. Noticing that it was the smaller of the two, he assumed that this was Mrs. Davis. "Let's check out the rest of the house and if we don't find a child's skeleton we might have a possible ID on our nymph in the woods."

"I would say you have a lot more than a possible ID."

"You believe in her already because your friend said he saw her?"

"You're right, I do, and I also am pretty convinced that she's the missing Davis child."

"How could she have lived in the wild all this time?"

"You've never heard the story of Tarzan?" Mac asked him.

"But that is just a story, it didn't really happen."

"All stories come from some kind of human experience, so I'm betting you that somewhere in the world something like that really did happen. I will also bet you that since you pointed out the Admiral's clothes had been taken off, rather than ripped off by the bear, that your nymph had something to do with it."

"So now you're saying that a child can not only survive in the wild, but can grow up to be a raving sex manic?" Steve grinned.

"No, if that were the case and she were a raving sex manic, why didn't she attack the 'legend in his own mind' the great Harmon Rabb?"

"Maybe he wasn't her type?"

"Then what about all the other men that you claim have seen her over the years? None of them were her type either?"

"Be that as it may, I do think that your reasoning has some merit and the nymph could be the Davis child, however we don't have any reason to suspect that she has seen the Admiral."

"What about the clothes that were removed? If the Admiral was hurt as badly as the clothes indicted, he couldn't have removed them himself. Maybe she found him and took him to wherever she's been staying and took care of his wounds, and if that's the case maybe he's still alive."

"Let's suppose she does have him, where do we begin to look?"

"Well if you hadn't said that you had already searched the area of the waterfall several times, I would have suggested that we start there because Dammit kept going back there."

"Sarah, unless there is some kind of secret cloaking device there, I can assure you they're not by the waterfall, because we searched that area with a fine tooth comb."

Mac grinned as if a light came on, it must have been the mention of a cloaking device, and she flipped open her cell phone hitting Bud's number on the auto dial. When he answered she said, "Bud I need you to do some of your computer wizardries for me, and we might get a lead on the Admiral."

"Sure, anything I can do to help the Admiral!" Bud replied excitedly.

"I need you to pull up every mention that you can find on the McLean Woodland Nymph..."

She was interrupted by Bud asking with a chuckle, "So we can find her for Commander Rabb?"

To be continued...


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"No Bud," Mac sighed, now regretting that she had made such an issue of it at the staff meeting. "I need you to search through the sighting records and see if you can get the locations of where they all happened. We believe that the nymph might have something to do with where the Admiral is now. I want you to see if you can triangulate the sightings on a map, then maybe we can get an idea of where she might be."

"So you think she is real?" he asked.

"Remember what Harm said after the meeting? He wouldn't have interrupted the search unless it really happened."

"I'll get right on it Colonel and get back to you when I have something," replied Bud, reaching for his keyboard.

"If you can't get me on my cell, call the McLean police station and give the information to them and it will be relayed to the search party."

When she hung up Steve looked at her in amazement and said, "I think I'm in love."

At Mac's startled look he added with a chuckle, "That was the most brilliant piece of detective work I've seen in a long time. If you ever want to leave the Marine's I've got a job for you on the force anytime."

"Oh, is that all it takes to impress you Navy boys? I do that much before lunch everyday sweetie!" Mac teased him.

"Then I might just need to have a talk with AJ, when we find him, about stealing you away from him."

"He and the Marine Corps might have something to say about that," she replied.

"I can be VERY persuasive when I need to be Ma'am," Steve teased back.

"Ooooo I might just let you practice that technique on me sometime sailor!" Mac promised and then let Steve get back to his job arranging for a forensics team to come out and deal with the situation at the house. When that was taken care of the two of them rejoined the search party. As they were leaving the house Mac spotted a family picture on the wall in the hallway, she asked Steve if she could take it to Bud and see if he might be able to use the picture to age the child to what she might look like today. Then she told him they could show it to some of the people that claimed to have seen the Nymph to see if they recognize her.

Once again Steve was impressed with Sarah's keen mind and deductive processes. Bud reported that Harm was pleased that they were now taking his sighting seriously and also said that Commander Rabb had volunteered to be the first one to see if the Davis girl was the Nymph.

The search was once again being called off because of darkness and Mac was just climbing into her Vette at AJ's house when her cell phone rang. It was Bud with some information for her, Helena Davis, only daughter of Glenn and Carolyn, was born April 3, 1969. No one had any record of the child ever entering school and no report of her parents being seen or heard from after 1973 or 4. Reports of the Nymph started in the mid 80's, she was reported as a young girl then and later sightings said she was a woman. All of them said that she was pretty, had long blonde hair, and was naked.

"Bud did you have any luck with pinpointing where the sightings occurred?" Mac asked as she made mental notes of everything he was telling her.

"Yes Ma'am, but I don't know how to describe it to you. I could email the map I used with all the sighting spots that I could pinpoint on it."

"That would be wonderful Bud. I was going to head home, but will run into the Admiral's house to get your email and then I can call the Chief of Police here that is coordinating the search for him."

"That's great Colonel, I've already sent it to you so you should have it as soon as you open your mail. I know the Admiral has a printer at the house because I helped him install it last year."

"Great Bud, thanks for all the help."

"Anything for the Admiral, Ma'am. Just find him."

"We're trying our best Bud." Mac let herself into AJ's house and flipped on his computer, she accessed her email and downloaded the map from Bud. After taking a look at it she called Steve as she waited for it to print out.

To be continued...


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

"I have something I think you'll want to see," Mac told Steve when he answered the phone.

"I'll be right over!" Steve replied.

"I'm not home. I'm at AJ's. Bud called as I was getting in my car and I wanted to see what he had quickly, so I used AJ's computer."

"My, my! Breaking and entering twice in one day! You are getting to be quite the little criminal Sarah Mackenzie!"

"Technically I only broke once and the second time I entered I had a key, so as a lawyer, I can tell you, no crime was committed….here anyway."

"Oh? But what about this afternoon? I caught you red handed!" he crowed with glee.

"Yes, you have me there officer, and I believe the use of handcuffs was promised?!" Mac fully admitted.

"I did, but somehow I don't think AJ would appreciate me interrogating you in his house."

"No, I guess that wouldn't be wise. But I do want to share this information Bud found. Is there somewhere we could meet?" she asked.

"I'm home if you'd feel comfortable coming here, or we could meet at a restaurant if you'd prefer?"

"The things we need to talk over probably shouldn't be done where others could overhear us. Give me directions to your place Steve, I trust you."

He chuckled and told her, "I'm not sure how to take that!"

"I don't give my trust easily, so I would take it well."

"Okay then, I will," he said and gave her directions then they hung up.

Mac pulled her Vette up to Steve's house and parked it next to his. She got out and smiled at the two cars sitting side by side. They looked like they belonged together. Even as she was wondering where that thought had come from, Mac was distracted by the sound of a woman's voice demanding, "So you must be Sarah?"

Looking around to see where the voice had come from, it wasn't until she looked down, that Mac saw a short but spry looking woman standing in front of her with her hands firmly planted on her hips. Mac was just thinking that this woman could have been why the term 'banty rooster' had been coined for people, when the woman, pointing an opened envelope that was addressed to Steve, stated firmly, "You know my grandson is ex-Navy…..what do you think he would want with a Marine?!"

Again Mac didn't have time to respond before the front door opened and Steve came out saying, "Gran, what are you doing harassing my guest?" and as he got closer and saw the mail in her hand, added, "And how many times have I told you that reading someone else's mail is a federal offense?"

"Well, I wouldn't have to read your mail if you told me what was going on in your life and I wouldn't have to harass your guest if you would introduce us!"

Snatching the mail out of her hand, Steve actually picked the tiny woman up, turned her around, put her down, then gave her a gentle swat on the rear, as he said, "Go home Gran! I'll deal with you later."

"You could invite me to dinner!" she demanded spinning back around to face him.

"Sarah and I have business to discuss Gran," he informed her.

"Oh is that what you're calling it these days?" the tiny woman who couldn't have weighed over one hundred pounds and was several inches short of five foot tall demanded of her grandson.

"Yes it is Gran. Sarah is helping in the search for AJ Chegwidden and we are having a business dinner."

The elderly woman sighed and with a taunting smile on her face told Steve, "Ah AJ! He is a dear sweet boy…..one who knows how to treat his elders…..with respect!"

Mac almost choked on her laughter to hear her stern, always-business CO referred to as a 'dear sweet boy'!

To be continued...


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Steve saw the trouble Sarah was having controlling her reaction to what his grandmother had said, so he decided to try and help by distracting both women. "Gran if I introduce you to Sarah will you go away?"

"I might," was all she would promise.

Knowing that was the best he would get out of her, Steve said, "Gran this is Colonel Sarah Mackenzie, she is AJ's Chief of Staff. Sarah this is Wanda Jean Xytell, my infamous busybody and all around buttinski grandmother."

"How do you do Mrs. Xytell?" Sarah asked as she held out her hand for Wanda to shake.

"I do just fine young lady. Are you interested in my grandson?"

"GRAN!" Steve protested.

"I don't know….should I be?" Mac asked, throwing a grin at Steve's shocked look.

"Well….he's not as sweet as AJ is, but he is a man with a bit of piss and vinegar in his soul because I made sure of it!"

"Then I might just consider taking him on Ma'am," Mac replied taking a liking to this free speaking woman.

"You could do worse," Wanda nodded and then added as she turned to go, "And don't you be Ma'aming me! Call me Wanda Jean or Gran. I'll let you get to your dinner, and you find that AJ! Oh if I just weren't thirty years younger, I'd give that man a run for his money!"

"GRAN!" Steve exclaimed.

"He would be lucky to have you Wanda Jean!" Mac called after the woman who had started to walk away.

"Yes he would!" she called back and then turning around once again to face Steve, while still walking away, backwards now, added, "I think she might do after all Steven. Don't let this one get away!"

When they had finished eating Lena had cleaned up a bit and taken the mess away. She then came back to the fire and sat across from AJ. The room suddenly became uncomfortably warm while AJ watched as the woman in front of him curled her legs into an Indian-style position. This left her womanhood completely open to his view and because of his unresolved reaction to her shower earlier he was finding it extremely difficult not to react to this sight. 

Closing his eyes to block out the erotic sight presented to him by the young woman who didn't even realize what she was doing, AJ began to recite the SEAL training manual. When he felt himself regain control, he opened his eyes only to find Lena still sitting in the same position, smiling at him. Within seconds he was in trouble once again. Praying, that if he pretended he was tired, she would lay down herself and the temptation would be removed he put his plan into action. AJ lay down and pulled the bearskin up over his shoulders.

Lena did take the hint that this meant it was bedtime, unfortunately, because of the chill in the air; she came over to climb under the bearskin with him and snuggled up close. Groaning at the failure of his plan, AJ felt the heat in the cave rise disproportionately to the temperature of the air in the room. Shifting his body away from hers AJ hoped that would solve the problem.

Feeling his body heat leave her, Lena moved closer and put her arm around AJ to hold him in place. Realizing that his plan was not going to work, AJ sat up and decided that conversation was probably his safest option at the moment. When he sat up, he of course, modestly pulled the bearskin up with him. Lena rolled over with a frown and looked at the man who had stolen her covers. Surprising AJ with the unexpectedness of her actions, Lena gave the bearskin a quick little yank so it was over herself, leaving AJ to face the chill without any cover.

Startled by the maneuver, AJ's mouth fell open at her delighted grin of triumph, however seeing the man she had feelings for shiver, she felt remorse. Lena was about to offer him a portion of the bearskin back again, when something new and interesting caught her attention.

To be continued...


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Lena's eyes had fallen to AJ's lap where his desire was once again making itself known. With a giggle, she pointed at AJ's erection.

Trying to hide his humiliation at his lust for this woman/child, AJ snatched the bearskin back from her to cover his lap.

However Lena had been in the wild long enough to know what was happening to him and because she loved AJ, even if she couldn't yet express it, she decided to help him. Moving into his line of vision, Lena got onto her hands and knees in front of him. Spreading her legs slightly and arching her back as she had seen the animals in the woods do, she waited for him to come to her.

AJ sat there in open-mouthed astonishment at the sight she presented. She was in fact presenting herself to him. The blatant offer was unmistakable, but he had to wonder if she had a clue what the ramifications could be.

Because her face was turned away from him, unlike her cute tush, Lena couldn't see the expression on his face, all she knew was he wasn't coming to her. Looking over her shoulder at him, she backed closer to him and when he still didn't move towards her, she wiggled her butt in his face.

The scent of her arousal was nearly his undoing. He tried to turn his face away so he couldn't see the temptation before him, but Lena had other ideas. Firmly yanking the bearskin off of him, she backed up even farther and lowered her womanhood onto his leg, where she proceeded to rub her juices on him!

AJ simply couldn't believe what was happening! Never had he ever been offered a woman in this way! It was clear that this was how Lena had seen this done in the wild, but what shocked him was that she had known what his erection meant and that she was willing to do something about it! None of the Nymph sightings had ever said that they had done more than seen her from a distance and just watched her, or had been close enough to startle her causing her to run from them. Yet here she was offering herself to him. He had to ask himself 'why?'.

Lena was becoming frustrated at AJ's lack of response. She didn't know if she was doing something wrong…..or maybe he didn't know what to do?! Maybe he had never done this kind of thing before. Okay, granted neither had she, but she had seen the animals do it, so she knew how. It was okay, she loved AJ and she would be happy to teach him what to do.

Balancing herself on her knees and one hand, she reached the other between her legs and even farther to grasp hold of AJ's…..she didn't have a word for what that was. Her parents hadn't told her when she was little. Lena knew her head, shoulders, knees and toes, from that song, and even her eyes, ears, and mouth and nose, but other things she didn't have names for. But it was the thing between his legs that the boy animals put into the girl animals.

She had a hold of his cock! And she was tugging firmly enough on it that he either had to move or be in danger of being hurt. The problem was his leg was still very sore and he also didn't want to make lo….have se….mate with her! Because this is obviously what was happening here, she wanted to mate with him!

To be continued...


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Across town Steve was leading Sarah into his house after the two of them had watched his grandmother walk back to her small guesthouse behind his own. The minute Mac walked into his house she felt like she'd was come home. His living room was done in shades of gold, no plain white walls here, they were a warm golden yellow, and the furniture was all soft creamy butter leather. Even the hard wood floor was a golden brown. As they walked from room to room, the color palette was carried out throughout the house. Each room had a different feel to it by the dominant color being changed. In his bedroom chocolate brown was the theme. Sarah felt like she had dived into a vat of a warm smooth chocolate delight.

Their last stop was the kitchen where she saw all the appliances were a goldenrod shade while the rest of the room was done in shades of yellow. Pineapple yellow to be exact, even to the use of pineapples as a theme throughout the room. On the wallpaper, the canisters on the shelf, even the centerpiece on the table by the window. The table was set for their dinner and even though Steve had told his grandmother this was to be a business dinner, there were candles on the table waiting to be lit and soft music playing in the background. The only thing missing was the aroma of the dinner itself.

The explanation was evident when Steve opened the back door and stepped out onto a patio. There was a grill that was smoking lightly and giving off the unmistakable scent of cooking beef. Steve opened the grill as Mac took a deep breath; he couldn't help but hear her sigh of pleasure when she saw the two large steaks cooking there. The two tinfoil wrapped packages that were also there confused her a bit, but she decided not to ask and just wait till dinner to find out what they were.

Looking around the patio she saw two lounge chairs as well as a round wrought iron and glass table with four chairs around it. Watching as Steve turned the steaks over as well as the mysterious foil packages, Mac asked, "It's such a lovely evening Steve, why don't we eat out here?"

Throwing a look at the small house about twenty yards away he leaned over and kissed Sarah's cheek as he whispered, "This is why."

"Do you call that a kiss Steven Xytell? You can do better than that and I know it!" came Wanda Jean's voice across the yard.

With a sympathetic smile Mac told him, "Now I understand. Do you need me to help carry anything inside?"

"No thanks, it'll all fit on this one platter," he answered as he put the food on the large plate, turned off the grill, and then led her inside as he called out, "Night Gran!"

"You could leave the curtains open, there's nothing good on TV tonight!" she called back.

Mac nearly doubled over in laughter as she heard that, and then did as Steve firmly closed the back door and pulled the curtains on the window shut.

"Snoopy old woman!" Steve muttered and then added when he saw Sarah's uncontrollable laughter, "And she wonders why I've never married! What woman would want me if they have to put up with that old broad living so close?"

Knowing that his bluster covered a very soft spot in his heart for the old lady, Mac said, "I was just about to tell you how lucky you were to have her! I'd love to have someone in my life that loved me like that. Have you ever thought about renting her out?"

Staring at the woman he was coming to admire more every day, Steve declared, "Sarah you are a woman in a million!"

Blushing, she replied, "Oh I don't know about that. Maybe one in a hundred thousand…."

As they both laughed at her witty comeback, Steve unwrapped the two tinfoil bundles to reveal carrots in one and potatoes in the other. "You cooked carrots and potatoes on the grill?" Mac questioned even though the evidence was right there in front of her eyes.

"Yes, I put brown sugar and butter on the carrots and slice the potatoes with onions and garlic. It really gives them a unique flavor. What can I get you to drink Sarah?"

"Tea or soda, whichever you have," Mac said as she sat down in the chair he was holding out for her.

To be continued...


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

AJ took Lena's hand and removed it from his shaft. When she turned to look at him to find out why, he could see the hurt and confusion in her eyes.

"You no like me?" she asked him.

"I like you Lena, but we can't do this…."

"Can," she interrupted, "Show you how!" she told him as she once again reached for his cock.

"No Lena! My leg is still hurt, I can't do what you want," AJ insisted.

"You want," she said pointing at his still hard shaft.

"Yes, I want you, I don't know of a red blooded male that wouldn't, but that doesn't mean that it's right! Even if my leg were well it would be wrong to take advantage of you."

Lena didn't understand most of what he was saying, but she did remember what 'wrong' meant. "Not wrong!" she declared.

"Yes it is!" he informed her sternly although every physical part of him was in total disagreement with the mental parts.

No one in over thirty years had been there to tell Lena that there were some things she couldn't or shouldn't do. There simply had been no one to tell her 'no'. So now that AJ was doing so, it didn't sit very well with her even though she loved him. She simply wasn't going to take his 'no' for an answer. Hiding her rebellious look from him Lena gave an angry little huff and plopped herself down Indian-style next to him.

Grateful that she had given up at last, AJ relaxed his guard. That was what Lena had been waiting for. AJ had forgotten that even the youngest of children can be deceitful, and the moment he wasn't paying attention to her Lena grabbed a hold of his manhood again. Taken unaware, AJ groaned and came all over her hand.

Lena's surprised look turned to one of anger. She lifted her messy hand and then looked down at his deflated cock. "Bad Lena! Broke AJ!" she exclaimed and slapped her own hand, then began to cry.

AJ was at a loss. He couldn't think of any way to explain what had just happened in a way this woman/child would understand. But he also couldn't have her thinking that she had 'broken' him. Pulling the bearskin over his lap in the hopes that it would be enough of a barrier between them, AJ pulled Lena onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her and rocking her slightly as he made soothing sounds. When her tears had become little hiccupping sobs, he said gently, "Lena you didn't break me. I'm just fine really!"

"But all the life went out!" she protested.

"Yes that's true, but it doesn't mean you broke me." He wasn't about to tell her how good what had happened had felt for fear she would offer to do it again.

"But you made hurt sound. Lena kiss it and make it all better!" she declared getting up off his lap and trying to pull off the bearskin, which he was holding onto for dear life.

Just the thought of her tempting little mouth on him was causing a reaction he didn't want. He shut his eyes and pictured his staff standing before him in their skivvies, figuring that would either amuse or revolt him, but he had forgotten that Mac and Jen were also a part of his staff and thinking of those two lovely ladies in their skivvies was not helping this situation in the least! He groaned again.

"See hurt!" Lena insisted still trying to take the bearskin away from him.

"No, I'm not hurt! Lena, could we please just go to sleep?" AJ begged in desperation, forgetting, until she nodded sadly and moved over beside him, that they would be sharing one bearskin. He fought the urge to groan again.

To be continued...


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

As they ate, Mac told Steve about the information Bud had uncovered on the Davis' and the Nymph sightings. She told him that she had printed out the map Bud had sent and when they finished eating they went into the living room where she laid it out for him to see. She just let him study it for a time and waited for him to react. All the sightings were near the waterfall.

"I know what you're thinking, Sarah, but that area has been searched repeatedly and there is nothing there."

"You're sure there wasn't a cave or something?" she asked.

"Positive," he assured her.

"Well then, maybe that's just the area she hunts for food in. I don't suppose you have a few people you could spare to stake out that area?"

"Not really. I want every person on the search for AJ."

"But if she's somehow involved…."

"We don't know that Sarah!"

"I know we don't, but what other leads do we have right now?"

Reluctantly he admitted, "None."

"Then?"

"I guess I could assign a couple of people to keep an eye on that area, but I don't hold out much hope of that panning out."

"I think you might be surprised," she told him with a smile.

"I hope you're right."

"Has there been any word from your forensics people?"

"Not yet, I'm hoping that they'll have something for me tomorrow."

"I spoke with the Admiral's daughter again today. She's so frustrated. Not only is she worried, but she's so far away that she doesn't feel a part of what's being done to find him. She kept asking me if she should come, and all I could tell her was that everything was already being done. At least, there she has her work to keep her busy, here all she would have to do is worry."

"AJ's talked a lot about her since I moved here to McLean, I know how much it means to him that the two of them had re-established a relationship. Have you ever met her?"

"Yes, he gave a party at his house several years ago to introduce her to all of us. You could see how much they love each other, but I didn't really see much of the Admiral in her. She must take after her mother."

"That's not really surprising considering his ex took their daughter away when she was only a toddler and she was raised all those years in Italy."

"I guess so," Mac said and then trying to get her mind off the Admiral and his daughter, she asked Steve, "So, is your grandmother always like she was tonight?"

"Oh no….there are times when she REALLY makes a nuisance of herself!" he laughed, then added, "But I love her dearly and she knows it, so she tries to get away with everything she can."

"And that kiss you gave me…was it just for her benefit?" Mac asked trying to ferret out his feelings for her.

"Yes it was," Steve admitted and then seeing the disappointed look that she wasn't quick enough to hide, he added, "That kiss was just to get her all riled up. If I had been kissing you the way I really wanted to, she would be sitting over there now making wedding plans and figuring up how many great grandchildren we would give her."

"That would have to be some kiss to cause all that!" Mac was only half teasing as she tried to imagine that kiss.

"Would you like me to demonstrate Ma'am?" Steve asked her with a self-confident grin knowing what her answer would be.

"Oh yes, I most certainly would!" she told him.

Opening his arms to her, he said, "Then come here woman! I've been dying to kiss you all night!"

"Why didn't you then?" she asked as she moved into his arms.

"Because I was afraid that if I started kissing you before dinner you wouldn't get to eat and I know how Marines are about their chow," he teased.

"Mmmmm for your kisses I might be tempted to forgo a meal or two," Mac told him as she put her arms around his neck and offered her mouth up to him.

To be continued...


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Steve had never been one to let opportunity pass him by, so he gathered her close and lowered his head until their lips met. The kiss started tenderly, but quickly heated up as both gave into the desire they had been feeling towards the other.

As tongues dueled and probed, their hands roamed over the other's body. Both were wishing the other's clothes away. Mac was the first to give in to temptation as she reached for the buttons on Steve's shirt, wanting to feel his naked heated flesh under her hands.

"Oh yes, touch me Sarah! Your hands feel so good on me!" he whispered against her lips.

"I want you Steve! Please say you feel the same?"

"I do, but are you sure? We haven't known each other very long and I don't want you to think that I'm rushing you."

"I'm the one trying to get your clothes off, so who's rushing who?" she asked with a teasing grin, as she removed his shirt all together.

"In that case may I remove your shirt too, Sarah?"

"Yes please!" she sighed in pleasure, sure now that she would get what she wanted.

Taking the hem of her shirt in his hands, Steve gently lifted it over her head as Mac raised her arms to help him. He smiled to see she wore a black lace, front closure bra. "This hardly looks like regulation wear Marine," he teased.

"Well then I guess you should take it off of me sailor!" Mac told him with a seductive smile.

Steve reached out to do just that as she asked, "So are you wearing any other non-regulation wear Ma'am?"

"Oh I might be," she offered suggestively.

"This deserves further investigation!" he laughed as he got to his feet and taking both her hands in his drew her to her feet as well. "Would you care to adjourn to my bedroom, Sarah?"

Hugging him tightly which pressed her ample breasts up against his naked chest, she nodded eagerly.

He smiled and led her back to the chocolate brown bedroom that she had seen earlier. Steve turned to Sarah and said, "I don't want to mess this up with you, Sarah. Please tell me what you like. Would you like a shower first or...ummm...should we just...ummm..."

"Get to it?" she asked gently. Mac was oddly pleased at his obvious effort to make everything right for her. No one had put her needs first like this in very long time.

His shy grin turned to a lecherous one at her teasing, and he replied, "Yeah, 'get to it' sounds like what I was going for there..."

"Then I vote for 'get to it', we can always shower afterwards," Mac told him with a wink.

"Sounds good to me, beautiful."

Once in the bedroom, Steve led her to stand next to the biggest bed she'd ever seen and then he sank to his knees in front of her. Any other man that had ever done that had ended up with his face in front of her sex, or the tallest of them at her waist, but Steve was so tall that his face could nestle between her breasts. And that's just what he did as his hands slid up her legs then paused a moment to cup her ass before bringing them around to the front to begin to remove her jeans. He kissed and nipped at her breasts as he unsnapped and unzipped her jeans. Steve started to slide them down her legs, revealing that she wore a black lace thong that matched the bra he had taken off in the living room.

"Oh Sarah!" he moaned as he helped her step out of her jeans and then caressed the scrap of lace off of her as well. Lifting them to his face, he inhaled deeply of her scent and groaned.

Mac had never had a lover do that before. It sent a jolt of sexual desire clear through her to think that he was that in to just her scent.

Steve threw the thong aside as he switched from his knees to sitting Indian-style in front of her. Grasping her butt cheeks in his hands, he drew her forward in such a way that she had to spread her legs and place her feet on either side of where he was sitting. This gave him perfect access to her openly displayed womanhood. Starting at her belly button, he trailed kisses down her tummy until he reached her curls. He discovered when he arrived there that they were already damp with anticipation of what was to come next.

To be continued...


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Mac had had several lovers in her life and she loved to be eaten out, but so few men did it well. Most of them were doing it just because they knew the woman they were with liked, or wanted it, so very few did it because they wanted to and even fewer because it gave them pleasure. But as she looked down into Steve's face right before he 'dove in' as it were, she was amazed to see the expression on his face. He looked like he had just sat down to a seven-course meal of all of his favorite foods.

He threw her a teasing look and declared, "It's a good thing I was a sailor, cuz it looks like I'm going to get wet!"

She was mid-laugh when she felt his tongue on her clit and her laugh turned to a gasp of pleasure. He was amazing! As he delicately licked and nibbled at her folds and clit, Mac felt her legs grow weaker and weaker. She was already wobbly when she felt her orgasm building and she called out, "Steve I'm going to fall!"

He lifted his head away from what he was doing just long enough to tell her, "Let yourself go Sarah, I have you and I won't let you fall." And as he went back to pleasuring her, his hands came up to hold her hips. They were strong and sure and she knew she could 'let herself go' because he would keep her safe.

Calling out his name as her body shuddered its way through an orgasm that felt like she was in the middle of an earthquake, Mac was grateful for the support his arms provided, knowing that if they hadn't been there she would have collapsed onto the floor. Hardly giving her time to recover Steve gracefully got to his feet, lifted her into his arms, and then placed her in the middle of his huge bed. It was only then that she realized he still had the trousers of his uniform on. She could see his manhood straining the front of his pants as if eager to be free.

As Steve removed them and his boxers, Mac's eyes widened in awe. His cock was as lean as he was, but her awe stemmed from the length of his shaft. Maybe it was because of his height that his cock was so long, but it was certainly the longest she had ever seen. Not that she carried a ruler with her or anything, but it had to be at least nine or ten inches long!

Seeing the look on her face, Steve assumed it was one of concern about his length. He'd had this same reaction from other women and was quick to assure her, "Don't worry Sarah, I know how to be careful and I know that most women can't take all of me. But I promise not to hurt you."

Grinning at him she held out her arms and said, "I wasn't worried sailor! I was just thinking 'a real man at last!'"

Steve's laugh rang out as he joined her on the bed and gladly went into her arms. "Sarah, you are amazing!" he declared and kissed her breathless.

When she could speak again she said, "I know!"

Shaking his head at the silliness, Steve began to caress her breasts until she couldn't think straight let alone make witty remarks. As he rose up above her, preparing to enter her, he asked, "Sarah, do I need to use protection?"

"No," she smiled gently. "I have that covered so you don't need to…"

He laughed at her pun and moved into position. Just to get her back for her teasing comments, he took his cock in his hand and ran it up and down her dripping wet folds. She squirmed on the bed silently begging him to enter her, but when he didn't, she began to groan in frustration.

Steve smiled at her and she growled in response to that. Reaching around him with her strong legs, she locked her ankles behind his hips and pulled him into her. He was so surprised by her action that he wasn't able to control his entrance into her body and before he knew it found himself buried to the hilt within her!

To be continued...


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

"Oh God, Sarah! I'm sorry! What you did was so unexpected!" Steve was trying to pull out of her as he said this, but she wouldn't allow that and kept him firmly in place.

"It's alright, Steve. You feel wonderful right where you are," Mac told him.

He couldn't believe that she was able to accommodate his full length! No other woman he'd ever been with had been able to. "You are incredible, Sarah! Where have you been all my life?"

"Waiting for someone like you to come along, I think. Now, are you going to get moving or do I need to do all the work?" she grinned up at him.

"Oh I aim to please Ma'am!" he told her as he carefully withdrew halfway and then stroked in again, still in awe that she could take all of him.

"Ooooh," she sighed as he made love to her, "You do please me Steve!" Meeting him thrust for thrust, she let her legs fall from around his hips so her heels could dig into the bed allowing her to push up to meet him.

He groaned as she did this and reached under her to take a butt cheek in each hand and gently squeeze them as he rode the tide of their passion. Mac was thrilled at his lovemaking; he was so strong and sure, not fumbling or rough. She also liked the fact that he didn't treat her like a porcelain doll, or on the other hand like a butch because she was a Marine. Steve treated her with respect, like a lady, and as an equal in bed.

She could give as good as she got and Mac wanted to be sure that he knew that. Encouraging him to increase the pace of his thrusts by doing the same, the two of them raced headlong towards the ultimate goal for lovers. Mac called out his name as she plunged over the edge and Steve was quick to follow her.

The two of them lay panting in each other's arms trying to speak, but unable to draw enough breath to do so. Finally they both spoke at the same time; Steve said, "That was fantastic!" as Mac echoed the sentiment by saying, "That was the best ever, Steve."

"Best ever?" he asked, holding her close.

Mac looked at him and saw the goofy pleased grin on his face. "Yes, best ever. There aren't a lot of men out there that treat a woman like you have treated me….you make me feel special."

"You are special, Sarah, and it may be too soon for this, but I want to see where this can go. I can see a future for us and hope that you might feel that way too."

"I do feel that way Steve and although I want to take it slow to be sure it's right, I do believe that we could have a future together."

"Wonderful. I'm glad we're on the same page here. Now will you stay the night or do I need to get up and take you home?"

"That depends sailor…are you offering breakfast in the morning?"

"Yes, Ma'am!"

"Then I'm staying," Mac told him with a contented yawn.

The two of them held each other till they fell asleep, not waking until a strident voice woke them demanding, "Steven Eugene Xytell have you taken to wearing black lace bras now?!"

It seemed like hours before AJ could relax enough to sleep that night. After what had happened and now to have her snuggled up next to him like she was, it was his personal hell. He knew of several men that would take advantage of the situation he was in, and very few that would be able to hold out against the kind of temptation Lena presented.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a dream like that, AJ thought as he woke the next morning. But usually when he dreamed of a beautiful naked woman giving him a hand job he usually didn't wake before he climaxed. That of course had led to many a morning of needing to change the sheets. He also usually didn't wake with the sensation that the woman's hands were still around his cock.

Then it hit him, he was awake and there were still hands around his cock. Opening his eyes he confirmed his worst fears. Lena was playing with his morning erection.

To be continued...


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Friday, May 27, 2005

0700 EST

Somewhere in the woods

McLean, Virginia

Seeing that AJ was now awake Lena said, "Stay!"

AJ watched in horror as she placed one leg on either side of his and then on her hands and knees, while looking over her shoulder, she began to crawl backwards towards his cock. He could see that this woman/child was somehow excited by what she was about to do. Most likely it was just a natural reaction because he was sure that she didn't understand what was happening. The problem was that AJ understood all to well and so very badly wanted what she was offering. But he was too much of a gentleman to take it. "No Lena!"

"Yes AJ!" she told him.

"No! What you are doing will hurt you!"

"No, AJ want Lena!" she insisted.

"Yes I do want you Lena, but the difference between people and animals is that we need to be in love to mate, not just do it with anyone."

"Okay then…Lena loves AJ."

"No Lena, you don't. We've only known each other a few days."

"See you run. See you get dog. Lena no like dog."

"You've seen me with Dammit?" he asked surprised.

"Dammit?"

'Great now I've taught her to cuss,' he thought as he told her, "That is my dog's name."

"Seen you lots with dog. No like dog."

"Why don't you like her?"

"She with you, not me with you!" Lena pouted.

"You were jealous?" AJ questioned incredulously.

"Me not jealous, me Lena," she told him as she gave him an odd look that he had forgotten her name.

Since she was still in a very tantalizing position and he was still only human, AJ didn't want to take the time to try and explain what he meant while she looked ready to sit down on his shaft at any moment. "Lena, why don't you make us some food?"

"No, want AJ!" she said and started to backup again.

"Lena, please don't, not without love. It would be wrong." 

"Lena loves AJ. AJ no love Lena?"

He was about to let her down gently and tell her that he hadn't known her long enough to love her, but somehow the words wouldn't come. He couldn't tell her he didn't love her, and then he had to wonder why. When he stopped to think about the time they had spent together since he came to, he figured they had the equivalent of an almost four-month relationship. With twenty-four hours in a day, minus eight or so hours a day for sleeping, and estimating that the average date lasted two to four hours, then add in that his work schedule would only allow him to fit in two dates a week, they had spent enough time together for thirty-one dates. At two dates a week they would have had fifteen weeks…he had only been seeing Meredith that long when he had been thinking about proposing.

Okay, maybe that wasn't the best comparison with how that fiasco had ended, but what he had come to realize in those few minutes of figuring was that he did care for Lena. Oh it wasn't love by any means, she was much too young for him in any case, but he did find her attractive, much too much for his own good!

"Oh God! Kill me! Kill me now!" Steve muttered as he rolled away from Mac and got out of bed.

Mac's internal clock told her that it was only 6:45 EST, not a reasonable hour for anyone to come calling. As she looked at Steve pulling on his uniform pants from the night before, he started to explain, "Gram comes over for coffee every morning...I'm sorry I forgot about it." He left the bedroom to confront his grandmother with a shake of his head.

Mac followed him buttoning his shirt that she had slipped on to cover her nudity. "Morning Wanda Jean," she said cheerfully then turned to Steve, "Eugene?"

"Yeah, awful isn't it?"

"So that would make your initials S E X?!"

To be continued...


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Giving his grandmother, who was giggling like a young girl, the 'evil-eye', Steve grumbled, "Do you see WHY I never tell anyone my middle name?"

"I think it's a perfectly wonderful name, I just can't believe that your parents didn't realize what that made your initials until after your birth certificate was signed!"

"Pop probably forgot what an evil and conniving woman you were! How he ever let you choose my middle name is beyond me anyway!" Steve protested.

Mac stood there silently enjoying the byplay between these two. Steve was so lucky to have this wonderfully zany relationship with his grandmother.

"I told you, they couldn't decide on a name, both of them wanted different names and when I walked in on them arguing they asked me to choose."

"Yes, I know the story Gran…" he trailed off with a beleaguered sigh.

"He hurt my feelings terribly when he refused to wear the going away gift I got him when he joined the Navy…I'd had it specially made for him too, Sarah-dear."

Mac wondered why Wanda Jean had changed the subject from Steve's name to this, but she was pleased to be included in their conversation, so asked, "What was it?"

It was Steve, however, that answered her not Wanda Jean, "It was a necklace with my initials!" Mac had already started to giggle when he demanded, "Couldn't you just see me getting on board a ship full of men with a necklace that said S E X?!"

"Well, you know the code…'Don't ask, don't tell,'!" she managed to get out between giggles.

Rolling his eyes, Steve tried a ploy to get rid of his grandmother so he and Sarah might have a little time alone before they had to leave for work. "Gran, Sarah and I need to get ready to leave…" he trailed off hoping she would take the hint.

Mac seeing what he was trying to do attempted to assist by asking, "So where is that breakfast you promised me Sailor?"

"Steven Xytell is that the only way you can get a woman to spend the night with you?" Wanda Jean demanded.

"Oh, no Wanda Jean, not the ONLY way," Mac answered for him with a wink to Wanda Jean.

Wanda Jean chortled, "Oh?! So he's good in between the sheets, is he?"

"GRAN!" Steve exclaimed.

"Better than good Wanda Jean!" Mac told her.

"Sarah!" he protested.

"His grandfather would be proud! We had a very active sex life right up till the end," Wanda Jean informed Mac, ignoring her grandson.

"Well that's a very good thing to know." Mac was delighting in this feisty old lady and riling Steve was just icing on the cake.

Steve stood there unsure what to do. Never had any of his other lady friends bonded with his grandmother like this. They had either tolerated her or had gone running at Wanda Jean's outspokenness. But here she and Mac were gossiping like two old friends and at his expense too!

Wanda Jean got up and poured Mac a cup of coffee, carried it to the table and told her, "This is for you if you can let go of him long enough to drink it."

It was only then that Mac realized she still had her arms around Steve. Running her hands up his naked chest she said, "Decisions, decisions!"

Laughing, Steve turned in her arms till he was facing her and kissed her forehead. "Will you let me go if I promise to feed you?"

"You promised to feed me if I spent the night. I need something else if I'm to let you go!"

"You tell him!" Wanda Jean cheered Mac on.

"What do you want?" he asked suspiciously.

"A kiss!" Mac demanded.

"You go girl!" Wanda Jean crowed.

"Hush, Gran!"

"Do you see how he talks to this poor defenseless old woman?" his grandmother asked with a pout.

"It's shameful!" Mac agreed.

Before she could say anymore, Steve covered her lips with his, pulling her close to his body. Mac's sigh of pleasure as she wrapped her arms around Steve's neck did not go unnoticed by Wanda Jean.

She gave a sad little sigh as she watched the two young people kiss. Wanda Jean was just the tiniest bit envious. She certainly did miss her husband and if the truth were known, she missed the physical side of marriage too. Her husband had been a wonderful lover and it had been a long time since she'd had a man in her bed. She might just need to call Jason Lee from bingo. He was usually up for a good old-fashioned romp in the hay with no strings attached.

To be continued...


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

When the two finally came up for air Wanda Jean realized she was feeling a little flushed. Yes she was definitely going to have to call Jason Lee. As Mac came to sit down with her at the table and Steve started to make breakfast, Wanda Jean said, "Why thank you for the kind invitation Steven, I would love to stay for breakfast."

"There was no invitation Gran and there won't be! Sarah and I might not even get through the meal before we're clearing the table so we can make love on it."

"Now hold it just a minute sailor! You promised me breakfast and a Marine never wastes food like you're suggesting. The lovemaking will have to wait till after I'm fed!"

"I see where your priorities lie now, Sarah," he gave a mock sigh.

"And don't you forget it," she teased.

Even though Steve glared at his grandmother and only set the table for two, Wanda Jean got up and brought another place setting to the table and didn't seem at all surprised when there was more than enough food for three. When Steve was questioned on that, he claimed that it was because he had been cooking for a Marine!

AJ looked at Lena when he heard a soft sob and realized when he had taken so long to answer her question that she had assumed the answer was 'no'. "Lena, I do like you, but I'm too old to love you," he told her.

Lifting one hand up she pointed at his still semi-hard cock and said, "Not too old, it still work!"

Ashamed that it was 'still working' AJ tried to pull his legs out from between hers, his plan was to go stand under the cooling waterfall. However, Lena had other ideas. She sat down on his thighs so he couldn't move his legs. "No go!" she insisted.

"Lena, you need to let me get up. I want to take a shower," AJ stated.

Pouting as her tears started to fall, she said softly, "You no love Lena."

"I like you a lot Lena, but I haven't had time to fall in love with you. You've been watching me for a long time and I only just met you."

"Oh," she said and seemed to spend some time thinking about that before getting up off his legs. "Okay we take show her. What is show her?"

"Shower," he said and then explained, "It is when you stand under the water to get clean."

"Wash!" she told him triumphantly.

"Yes, wash," he answered with a grin.

"Lena help!" she said as she stood to help him get to his feet.

"Thank yo,u Lena," AJ replied, as he accepted her aid in getting up. What he hadn't thought about was the fact that she really did intend to help him 'wash'! As the two of them slowly walked towards the waterfall, AJ for the first time in a long time felt every one of his years. He felt like he'd been 'rode hard and put away wet'.

Once under the cooling water AJ gave a sigh of relief as his desire was dampened. That was until Lena started helping him 'wash'. Her hands seemed to be all over his body at once. He kept trying to chase them away, but she thought it was a game.

Giggling, she played with him, dodging his hands and yet still finding plenty of opportunities to play with his nipples, ass, and cock. No matter how many times he swatted her hands away and told her 'no' she would still giggle and continue to play.

Before long he was as hard as before much to Lena's delight and AJ's embarrassment. He couldn't ever remember being this eager for a woman. Certainly not with Meredith and Marcella was so far in his past that it was hard to remember their life together. But Lena wasn't really a woman. Yes, maybe she was in years, but certainly not in maturity. Oh to be sure she had to be intelligent and strong to have survived all these years out here alone in the woods, but she was so childlike in her outlook and behavior.

And yet she had womanly desires. That had been clear when she offered herself to him. He had seen how wet she was, it might have been just a natural response to his arousal, but on the other hand she professed to love him. But she couldn't understand adult love after being out here alone all these years, could she?

To be continued...


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

It didn't really matter even if she did understand; he was still way too old for her. His daughter Francesca had to be the same age if not older than Lena and while men all over the world were dating younger women to allow them to feel younger themselves, AJ had never felt that need. He was proud of what he had done with his life, with the sad exemption of his love life; he had much to feel good about. He had served his country with distinction and honor and still did so to this day. Well, that was if he still had a job to go back to after disappearing like this without any explanation.

That brought him to the thought of just how long he had been here in the woods. He could remember waking up in the cave four different mornings, but he had no knowledge of how long he had been out before regaining consciousness.

The three people in Steve's kitchen had just finished eating when the discussion turned once again to AJ. "Did the two of you figure out where that dear sweet boy might be?" Wanda Jean asked as she polished off the last piece of bacon from the platter.

"All of the sightings of the Nymph have been near the waterfalls and we think that she might have some knowledge we could use to find him," Mac told her.

"You know my dear departed Donald saw her once. I teased him about it for years, but he insisted that he had seen her and it was by the waterfall too come to think of it!"

"Gramps saw the Nymph, Gran? You never told me that!" Steve exclaimed.

"You never asked!" she retorted.

"But why wouldn't you tell me something like that, Gran?" Steve asked.

"It never seemed important Steven and to tell you the truth, I'd forgotten all about it until just now. When I think about your grandfather, you can believe I have a lot better things to think of than some silly naked girl he claimed to have seen in the woods almost twenty years ago," Wanda Jean told him.

"That really isn't important now anyway, Steve. Finding AJ is," Mac interjected.

"You're right, sorry," Steve admitted. "So the plan is to capture the Nymph, who we believe to be Helena Davis and question her about AJ's whereabouts?"

"I have a feeling that if we find her, we'll find him. If he's still alive, that is," Mac told him.

"Oh it'll take more than a naked girl to kill that dear sweet boy!" Wanda Jean exclaimed.

"Gran!"

"What?! You know it's true! The two of you served together and I've seen him in shorts and shirtless…he's one fine figure of a man!" Wanda Jean sighed.

"GRAN!"

Mac couldn't help herself. she burst out laughing. The byplay between these two was so funny and the way Wanda Jean lusted after AJ! Mac wondered if he knew Wanda Jean thought of him that way? If they did find him alive, she just might have to tell him to see his reaction.

"Getting back to the subject at hand," Steve began, "How do you propose that we find and corral this Nymph that no one has ever done more than see for twenty or so years?"

"Well, has anyone ever set out to catch her before? And even if they have, was there ever an entire search party in on it?" Mac questioned.

"You do realize I'll be a laughingstock when I send all those people out to look for someone even I believed was a myth until yesterday?"

"Yes, but think of the talk show circuit you could do when she's captured!"

"Funny Sarah!" he grumbled.

"I thought it was!" Wanda Jean offered. "And speaking of proposing…you know what the two of you were doing last night would have more than been grounds for that when I was your age Steven Eugene Xytell!"

"Yes, but Moses was a pup back then too Gran."

"I am NOT that OLD!" she insisted.

"I promise you that I still respect him this morning Wanda Jean if that's what you're worried about," Mac told Steve's grandmother.

"So that means you don't want to settle down with this rapscallion and produce a passel of great grandkids for me to spoil?"

To be continued...


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

"Okay Gran, that does it! You're out of here!" Steve exclaimed, jumping up from his seat and gently but firmly pulling Wanda Jean up from hers and marching her towards the door.

Mac was trying to suppress her laughter when Wanda Jean called out her parting shot, "Just remember, that should you change your mind Sarah-dear, I'd be willing to leave all my millions to a little girl named after me!"

"You don't have millions!" Steve growled as he slammed the door behind the tiny woman.

Mac lost it! She just couldn't restrain her mirth any longer at the bawdy old lady.

"You are only encouraging her ,Sarah! Why didn't you just tell her to back off?" Steve wanted to know as he began to clean up the breakfast dishes.

"Because she's priceless! I would have given anything to have had an incredible influence like her in my life when I was growing up! You should rent her out!"

"Sell her maybe…renting her out means they would bring her back!" he chuckled.

"I'm serious Steve! I could have used someone like her in my life."

"Oh, I think you turned out to be a pretty amazing woman as it is," he told her bending to place a kiss on her lips.

"Well thank you for that, but you really should give the woman a break. She loves you like nothing else, and there are a lot of people that don't have that in their lives," Mac told him with just a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Sarah, I'm sorry if you thought I was taking having Gran in my life lightly. I don't. I love the woman and would be lost without her. However I can't let the old bat know that or she would be ruling my life…even more than she tries to now. As for you, my sweet dear, I'm sorry that you didn't have someone like her in your life, but I will gladly share her with you now if you like," he offered with all sincerity.

"I'd like that Steve," Mac told him, standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek.

With a sigh he turned his head and brought their lips together for a heated kiss.

Feeling Lena's hands on his cock yet again caused AJ's thought to refocus on the moment and he took a stumbling step away from her. Lena, seeing him stumble and having no idea how sensitive a penis was, reached out to grab hold of him to keep him from falling.

Luckily AJ had managed to regain his footing or he would have been badly injured. Not from the fall, but from the grip Lena had on his shaft. As it was, that hard pull was enough to send him over the edge. Because they had both stepped out from under the waterfall Lena's hand and arm were sprayed with cum.

"Ooops!" she said and then giggled.

"Ooops indeed!" he grumbled, not really angry at the woman/child in front of him, but upset at his own lack of control.

"AJ mad at Lena?" she pouted, as she looked at the white liquid on her hand.

He was just about to answer her when she put her hand to her mouth and started to lick it off. A curious look crossed her face and she looked at him asking, "What this?"

'Wonderful! How do I explain THIS to her?' he thought.

Breaking the kiss and reluctantly backing out of his arms, Mac said, "As much as I would like to drag you right back to that bedroom of yours I need to get dressed and head for the office."

"I am going to have a lot to complain about to AJ when we find him!" Steve grumbled then added, "But I should get back to the search for him too. Will I see you tonight?"

With a smile she told him, "If you want to."

"Would it be too presumptuous of me to ask you to bring enough clothes so you could spend the weekend?"

"What would Wanda Jean say?"

"I don't care, I only care about what you have to say about it."

"I think it's a wonderful idea, but if I don't get my bag from the car and get dressed for work, I'll be late."

"You brought a bag last night?" he was stunned that she had come to dinner planning, or at least prepared to spend the night.

To be continued...


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

"It's not what you're thinking Steve. I keep an emergency bag in the car in case I'm unexpectedly called out of town. That happens to me a lot," Mac explained.

"Oh," he said and smiled. He was oddly glad that she hadn't come prepared to stay. This way, it meant all the more that she had.

Both of them dressed for work and shared one last kiss in the driveway before getting in their respective Vettes and heading off in separate directions.

Steve stopped in at the station to see if there were any other crisis' that needed his attention before rejoining the search for AJ.

Mac conducted business as usual, even if she had to fend off the SECNAV's demands to know why his JAG hadn't been found yet. She updated the staff on what was going on, then hurried to finish as much work as possible so she and Steve could spend as much time together as possible this weekend. The daylight hours would still be filled with the search for AJ, but even then she could spend time with Steve.

Not able to come up with a simple explanation, one that wouldn't get into subjects he didn't want to try and deal with, AJ tried to distract her. "It's not important what it is, Lena. I need to try and get home today. Do you think you could find my clothes?"

"Clothes gone, you stay home with Lena, and tell me what this is! It taste good!" she demanded, as she continued to lick her hand and arm clean.

"Lena, I have to go home," he explained, ignoring the rest of her statement.

"No! This home!" she insisted.

"It's your home, not mine, I have responsibilities and a dog that is probably going crazy by now."

"Dog with lady, her fine," she said and then slapped her hands over her mouth as if she could call back the words.

"What do you mean? Have you seen Dammit with someone since I've been here?" AJ demanded.

"Dog fine, have lady. AJ fine, have Lena!" she told him.

"Why didn't you tell me this? You knew they were looking for me, why didn't you bring them here so they could take me home?"

"You stay here!" Lena insisted.

"I can't Lena, I have to go home…" he was interrupted.

"This home!"

"Not my home Lena! But I'll tell you what, why don't you come home with me? I'll get us both some clothes and then we can find your family."

"Family?"

"Yes family, the people who love you. Your parents…your mom and dad."

A frown crossed her brow as she thought hard about something, then she said, "Mommy Daddy sick. Them not wake up. Went to play got lost." She looked guilty as she added, "They no want Lena to go in woods. Lena bad girl!"

"Lena, you were a child, you didn't know any better." Wondering just how sick her parents had been he also wondered if they were still alive. Maybe there was some truth to the story that the nymph, Lena, was the Davis girl. The rumor was that they'd left town, but now he wondered if instead they might be dead. He would have to have Steve Xytell check it out when he got home.

"Lena not bad?" she asked hopefully.

"No, Lena, not bad," he assured her and then found his arms full as she gave him a happy hug.

"Okay Lena go home with AJ! Live with AJ!"

He would have to deal with the 'live with AJ' later, right now he felt if he argued about that she would refuse to help him get home and since he was still weak from the blood loss of his injuries and his leg was still very sore, he would need all the help he could get. "Lena, can you find my clothes please?"

"Gone. Lady and dog took them."

"They took them? How did they find those here and not find me?"

"Lena throw them in woods far away so they not find home."

"Why?!" he asked stunned.

"Lena want to keep AJ!"

To be continued...


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Amazed that she had come up with such a plan and then carried it out so well that Dammit and Mac, because he was sure the 'lady' had to be Colonel Mackenzie, hadn't found him. Although her speech was childlike, her logic and planning skills obviously weren't. But there were a few things he needed to make clear to her, "Lena, I'm not a pet. You can't 'keep' another person."

"But Lena loves AJ!"

"That may be true, but you don't 'keep' someone you love either."

"Why?"

"Because people don't own other people. If you love someone you stay with them just because you do love them."

"Okay! Lena stay with AJ! We go to your home now?"

'Wonderful! What have I gotten myself into?' he thought as he mentally contemplated walking through the woods to his home naked except for his running shoes. "I guess there's no better time. We'll have to take it slow and avoid people if we can." He would rather announce his return home with clothes on.

"Okay, Lena good at that," she assured him cheerfully and walked over to pick up the bearskin. "Take this," she said.

AJ was torn between his own modesty and his gentlemanly concern for hers. Even though it seemed Lena had not modesty at all and was perfectly comfortable with her nudity, AJ knew how this would be looked on by the outside world. Hell, the whole Nymph legend would most likely never have started if she hadn't been naked. Who would go around telling stories about seeing a clothed woman in the woods? Who would care? But being the man that he was, AJ knew that he would protect this woman/child before himself any day. "Yes Lena, take that. How did you get it?" 'Surely she hadn't killed a bear that size herself!' he thought.

"Bear hurt, have hole in tummy. Me watch him for days. One day him dead, him not need skin anymore, but could keep Lena warm."

"So you skinned him yourself?"

"Yes," she stated proudly.

"That's amazing!"

"A maze ing?"

"It means good or wonderful," he explained.

"Oh," she said with a grin. "A maze ing!" She seemed tickled to learn a new word.

AJ hoped that would continue because there would be much for her to learn once she re-entered the world. "Shall we go now?"

"Okay," Lena agreed and put her arm around his waist to help him as they slowly started for his home. Luckily it was still early and it was likely that the search wouldn't begin again for a while yet.

The journey back to AJ's house took much longer than he had expected it would. He was weaker than even he had realized and the two of them needed to stop several times so he could rest. About halfway to the house, they began to hear the searchers arriving in the woods. AJ fought an inner battle as Lena led them around the groups of people, about whether to announce themselves and save the time and expense of another hour or so of searching, or to let them continue to search while he and Lena got to the house and into some clothes. His concern for Lena once again won out and they continued to avoid the search parties.

At the house, AJ had to use his hidden key to get in because his set had been in the clothes Lena had gotten rid of. The one thing that surprised him was that Dammit hadn't started barking as soon as she'd heard the key in the lock. AJ was sure she must be frantic to be fed by now. It wasn't until he got to the mudroom to find her gone; that he remembered Lena had said she'd seen Mac and Dammit together. Mac must have taken the dog home to care for her. AJ would have to find some way to thank her for that.

Looking around he found other evidence that someone, presumably Mac, had been in the house. His mail was on the hall table and his coffee pot was in the kitchen sink soaking. Figuring he'd better get himself and Lena dressed and then let everyone know he was back safe, if not completely sound yet, he moved to the bedroom to look for clothes.

To be continued...


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Searching through his dresser for something that might fit Lena, AJ found the Halloween costume Meredith had bought for him. She had told him she'd always had a 'doctor' fantasy and had gotten him a pair of blue scrubs. They were cotton and had a drawstring waistband; the outfit just might do for Lena. Handing it to her and telling her to put it on, he grabbed out jeans and a polo shirt for himself.

AJ figured he would spend most of the day explaining what had happened to him and probably wouldn't get into work. That reminded him that he didn't even know what day of the week it was. Dressing quickly he then showed Lena how to put on what he'd given her, because she had just been standing there holding the clothes. He left her alone to dress and went to get the morning paper from the front porch.

Commander Harmon Rabb had been feeling bad that he'd missed out on the last few days of searching for the Admiral, but he simply couldn't clear any time. However, this morning he was completely free, so after checking in at the office to find out if Mac needed him, he headed to McLean when she told him everything was under control. On the forty-five minute drive he had time to contemplate how happy Mac had looked this morning. He wondered if she was getting too comfortable in AJ's chair, and thinking that if he didn't return she'd get the job.

That wasn't like Mac to want a job at someone else's misfortune, but what else could it be? As her best friend, he knew she would have told him if she was seeing anyone new. After the disaster of her break up with Clay, Harm was just biding his time before he asked her out again. Harm knew he couldn't compete with the kind of money Clay could throw around, but he was sure he was more than a match for the spy in the charm and sex departments! He would give Mac a few more weeks to put Webb from her mind and then he would move in and pick up the pieces.

Not knowing McLean at all, Harm did what all the JAG staff had been doing; he parked his car in the Admiral's driveway and was going to join the first group of searchers he came across in the woods. Getting out of his car, and locking it, he was just about to head into the woods when the front door of the Admiral's house opened and the missing man himself stepped out onto the porch and bent down to pick up the newspaper!

Standing up with the paper in his hand, AJ noticed Harm standing next to his car. "Good morning, Commander. Am I right in guessing you're here looking for me?"

Harm came up onto the porch looking over his CO for any signs of injury. From what he could see, the Admiral looked fine, but then what had caused him to be missing for nearly a week? "Yes Sir, but I expected to join the search for you in the woods, not find you here at the house."

"Well why don't you come in and we can fill each other in about what's transpired this week? Then maybe you could go and tell the search parties I'm home?" AJ invited him, stepping aside to allow Harm to precede him into the house.

Harm was in the doorway when Lena came out of AJ's bedroom. "Ummmm, Sir why don't I go call off the search now? It looks like you're busy," he said as he backed off the porch.

As Harm hurried into the woods AJ turned and saw Lena standing in his living room still naked. 'Great,' he thought, 'this will be one more thing to explain.' "Lena, why aren't you wearing the clothes I gave you?"

"Lena no like," she stated simply. "Hungry, you have food or Lena go hunt?"

"I have food here, but we're going to have a talk about clothes young lady. You have to wear them Lena."

"No like!" she insisted, following him into the kitchen where she watched him open a large white box and put out smaller plastic boxes.

"There are many things in life that you have to do Lena whether you like them or not."

To be continued...


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

"No wear clothes!" she stated firmly and then asked, "Lena start fire?" as she looked around the kitchen for wood.

"We don't need a fire, I'll just microwave it," he explained as he removed the lid from some spaghetti he'd made the night before his bear encounter. Making sure the food was still good; he placed it in the microwave to heat. Pulling out salad fixings, he explained what he wanted her to do, then went to the freezer to get out a loaf of garlic bread and placed it under the broiler.

Lena watched as he set the table for one and then placed the food next to his plate. He dished up the strange smelling food then looked up at her before beginning to eat. Pouting at him she said, "Lena hungry!"

"There is plenty of food," he replied and when her frown turned to a smile he added, "You can eat as soon as you get dressed."

Her look of shock that he was pulling the same trick on her that she had on him almost made him laugh. But AJ knew what would happen when the authorities arrived to get his story if Lena was still naked. Her frown back again, Lena stomped off to this bedroom and came back a few minutes later dressed. She was still frowning, but she came to the table and sat down. Her hunger had won out, even over her stubbornness. AJ gave her a plate full of food, which she dug into, eager to try AJ's food.

Ignoring the fork she picked up her spoon and tried to pick up some of the spaghetti. AJ watched her struggles with amusement for a few moments and was just about to reach out and help her when the front door opened and his friend, Chief of Police Steve Xytell, walked in.

"AJ, where the hell have you been this past week?!" Steve demanded.

"I was attacked by a bear during my run on Saturday. Lena saved me and has been taking care of me ever since."

"So why didn't you let someone know you were hurt? Why didn't you call?"

"We were in her cave…it didn't have a phone," AJ grinned at his agitated friend.

"Cave?"

"Yes, Lena is the McLean Woodland Nymph."

"What?!"

"AJ taste funny!" Lena spoke for the first time since Steve's entrance.

Steve looked at his friend and inquired, "How the hell does she know how you taste?!"

Flushing as he remembered Lena licking his cum off her hand, AJ answered, "I think she was referring to the spaghetti. Her language is limited because she grew up alone in the woods."

"Then why do you look so guilty?" Steve asked with a smile.

"Steve, can we get back on topic? I think…no I'm sure that Lena is the Nymph and she's been in the woods for a long time. We need to find out who she is."

"Mac and I believe she's Helena Davis."

"You and Mac? I guess she's been helping to look for me?"

This time it was Steve that flushed when he thought of what else he and Mac had been doing.

"It looks like we both have some stories to share one of these days," AJ commented seeing his friend's reaction.

"Yeah I guess, but for now we…Mac and I, discovered the Davis' dead in their home, but their daughter was nowhere to be found. It turns out they must have been having a romantic dinner for two after putting their child to bed. From what our team could discover, it seems they got some tainted shrimp and it made them sick. We found the mother in bed and the father sitting in a chair next to the bed. They must have gotten bad fast, and that would have been before the 911 system was in place."

Turning to Lena, who was still eating, AJ asked, "Lena, do you remember the last time you saw your mom and dad?"

Closing her eyes and scrunching up her face as she tried to remember, Lena was silent for a few minutes and then opened her eyes. Staring at AJ she said, "Mommy was in bed, Daddy was holding her hand. I was hungry, but they not wake up to feed me. I mad so took cookies and went in woods. They not want me in woods, Lena bad."

To be continued...


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

"Lena you weren't bad, you were just a child that made a mistake," AJ told her.

"Mommy and Daddy mad at me!"

"Why would you think that?"

"They not come find me!"

Going down on his haunches, even though it was painful with his injured leg, AJ wanted to be facing her when he delivered the sad news. "Lena, your parents didn't come for you because they were dead, not asleep."

"Dead?" she questioned softly.

Not sure if she didn't understand or was just asking for confirmation, AJ took her hands in his and said, "Yes, they loved you very much and it's the only thing that would have kept them from coming for you. I'm sorry."

"They did love me?"

This time he knew she was asking for confirmation, he squeezed her hands and assured her, "Yes they did Lena. They loved you very much."

A tear slid down her cheek and she moved forward into AJ's arms, "They gone?" she questioned.

Enfolding her in a hug, AJ said, "Yes Lena, I'm so very sorry."

"AJ," Steve pulled his attention from Lena. "There are some calls I need to make now that you're back," Steve told him as he moved towards the door.

Slowly standing, AJ walked his friend to the door. Steve turned and was about to shake AJ's hand when movement behind AJ caught his attention. "AJ…" he said nodding in the direction of the living room.

AJ turned to find Lena with her top already off and struggling out of her pants. "Lena, what are you doing?" he demanded.

Finally free of the pants, she stood there naked once again and told him triumphantly, "Lena done eating…not need clothes anymore!"

He could hear Steve's chuckle behind him, but choosing to ignore it, he approached Lena, picked up the clothes and held them out to her. Lena wouldn't take them from him; she crossed her arms and stubbornly shook her head 'no'.

"Lena, you have to wear clothes when you're not in the woods."

"No!"

"If you're going to stay here you must wear clothes!"

"Will AJ love Lena if she wears clothes?"

"Lena, I told you that I was too old for you. Remember?"

"But mater thing still work!"

Two gasps of, "What?!" alerted everyone to the fact that Harm had arrived at the door just in time to hear Lena's comment. When AJ and Steve turned to look at the new arrival, they found him staring appreciatively at Lena's naked form. "It just dawned on me that she's the Nymph, isn't she?"

"Why don't the two of you discuss that out on the porch while I deal with things in here?" AJ asked as he practically shoved the two men from his home. He was about to pull the door closed when he saw Mac's Vette pull into the driveway. AJ was going to call over his shoulder to tell Lena once again to get dressed because he was sure Mac would want to come in to hear what had happened to him. But when he turned to do so he found Lena standing right behind him looking over his shoulder out the door.

Lena confirmed AJ's earlier assumption that Mac had been the one with Dammit when she said, "Lady with dog!" Unexpectedly pushing by AJ, Lena stomped onto the porch and shouted at Mac who had just gotten out of her car, "You have dog, Lena have AJ! You no take him too! You go away!"

Mac stared up at the gathering of people on the porch in amazement. There are situations that never in your wildest dreams could you ever imagine of yourself in. So then when you do happen to find yourself in one of these, your first reaction is to simply marvel at the absurdity of it all. First, there was Harm, who couldn't take his eyes off the naked woman. Second, Steve, who while laughing uncontrollably, kept his eyes darting between AJ, the naked woman, and herself so as not to miss a single reaction. Third, there was AJ, her CO whom they'd been searching for almost a week looking none the worse for wear, with a naked woman laying claim to him. Then lastly, there was the naked woman herself, Mac had to believe that this was Helena Davis, the McLean Woodland Nymph, but it didn't explain what she was doing here assuming Mac wanted AJ and telling her to go away!

To be continued...


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Deciding that she had to address the situation quickly because she could see the local news vans coming down the street, Mac said, "Well Lena, its okay then, you can have AJ. It's Steve I want."

Standing there with a pleased grin, Steve watched as Harm and AJ turned towards Mac and demanded in unison, "What?!"

"I believe you heard me, gentlemen," she replied, and before they could answer, added, "Now we'd better get Lena inside, there are news crews arriving."

"Thanks Mac," AJ said as he moved aside for her to enter the house.

Mac moved past the men and taking Lena firmly by the arm, guided her into the house. Spotting the clothes laying in the middle of the living room floor, she picked them up and handed them to Lena. "Put these on," she instructed.

"No!" Lena stated.

"You want AJ's approval don't you?"

"Want him love Lena!"

"Well then you need to wear clothes."

"Not like clothes!"

"Lena, none of us do, but if you want AJ to be happy with you, then you need to wear clothes whenever he is wearing clothes," Mac bargained.

"Only then?" Lena asked as she reluctantly took the clothes from Mac's hands.

"Only then," Mac promised.

"Okay," she said and slowly began to dress.

Meanwhile out on the porch, Steve wanted a few questions answered before the news crews got involved. Ones that he was sure they wouldn't be asking, or if so at least not getting answers to! "So just how the hell is it, that Lena knows that your 'mater thing' still works AJ?" he demanded of his friend.

Not wanting to explain that one at all, especially in front of one of his staff, AJ countered with a question of his own, "Just how is it that my Chief of Staff 'wants' you?"

Harm turned his eyes from the Admiral to glare at Steve and say, "Yeah, I'd like to know that too!"

Seeing what he assumed was fatherly concern in AJ's expression and the grim look on Harm's face, Steve answered seriously rather than glibly, "We've gotten to know each other while searching for you AJ, and I find her to be a very special lady. I can only hope that she does want me, even Wanda Jean approved of her!"

"Who the hell is Wanda Jean?!" Harm wanted to know, but he wasn't going to get his answer, or at least not then, because two different news crews had arrived and were rushing up the steps to get the Admiral's story.

As AJ answered their questions, the story of his attack and rescue unfolded. Harm and Steve, who hadn't heard the whole story themselves, listened avidly as the reporters did. When he finished, the main question seemed to be, would they get to meet the Nymph. As if on cue, the door opened and Mac and Lena came out. Assuming correctly, that the attractive woman in the Marine uniform wasn't the one they were here to meet, they surged forward pushing microphones in Lena's face and bombarding her with questions.

Not surprisingly the barrage frightened Lena who cowered behind AJ. With a stern glance, what Harm and Mac knew as his 'Admiral's face', AJ stood between the reporters and Lena. He told them that she had been alone in the woods for over twenty years and that she wasn't used to this many people. He instructed them to ask their questions one at a time in a calm and quiet voice.

When they backed up a bit and nodded their agreement to his instructions, AJ brought Lena out from behind his back, but kept a reassuring arm around her shoulders as the reporters began to question her.

"What is your name?" the male reporter who said he was Doug Ebbs from KLJB asked.

"Lena," was her answer.

AJ added, "It's believed that she is Helena Davis. Colonel Sarah Mackenzie and Chief of Police Steve Xytell are working on discovering if that is true."

The woman reporter introduced herself as Summer Swanson, asked, "How does it feel to have rescued Admiral Chegwidden?"

Lena just gave her a blank stare, not understanding whom she was talking about. AJ turned to look at Lena and told her, "She wants to know how you feel about saving my life."

"Good."

"Why were you naked all the time?" Doug asked.

To be continued...


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

"She became lost in the woods as a child. She simply outgrew her clothes," AJ answered for Lena.

"How did you survive the winters without clothes?" Summer questioned.

"Bearskin," Lena told her.

"I know you were naked," Summer said, "But how did you keep warm?"

Lena gave her a frustrated look and AJ stepped in with, "She wasn't telling you she was in her bare skin, what she meant was that she had skinned a bear and used that to keep her warm."

"Oh, I see," she responded.

"So why are you wearing clothes now?" Doug wanted to know.

"Have to. Make AJ happy!" Lena declared.

Trying to keep from rolling his eyes, AJ hoped Ms. Swanson would get off the clothes topic. His wish was granted, but her next question was just as bad. "So keeping AJ 'happy' is important to you?" she asked.

Lena nodded emphatically and said, "Yes!"

"Why do you want to keep him happy?" Doug asked with a suggestive smile.

Knowing what was coming, but knowing that if he stopped the questioning now it would look even worse, AJ nonetheless cringed inwardly when Lena firmly announced, "Lena love AJ!"

Sensing a new story here, Summer asked, "And does AJ love you too?"

"Will if Lena live with him!" she told the reporter cheerfully.

Quickly throwing in a follow-up question, Summer inquired, "So are you planning on living here with the Admiral?"

AJ knew he once again needed to step in and clear a few things up. "Lena has lived in the woods for over twenty years, she has no memory of modern life. She will need help adjusting to living in a house with all its conveniences, and interacting with people…"

"I see. So you're going to cohabitate with an admittedly naive girl, who has made it clear that she loves you and will do pretty much anything to keep you 'happy'?" Summer demanded with a glare at AJ.

The reactions from the group were varied; Doug eagerly awaited the answer to a loaded question, Harm also looked eager to hear AJ's reply. Mac and Steve both made grumbling noises and started to move forward as if to physically restrain Summer from asking anymore inappropriate questions. Lena had once again moved behind AJ since the strange woman had moved towards AJ.

The man whom the question had been directed at was opening his mouth to answer when a strident voice came from behind the reporters, "Shame on you Summer Swanson, for asking a question like that! Why I knew your parents and grandparents and I'm sure that they all taught you better manners than that! Admiral Chegwidden is an honorable man and would no more think of having a young lady stay in his home without a chaperone than he would do something to dishonor his country! Now I think you should apologize to him!" Wanda Jean Xytell demanded as she marched her tiny frame up the steps and took a stand between AJ and Lena.

People on the porch closest to Steve heard him mutter, "Way to go Gran!"

The reporter rather than give the apology that Wanda Jean had demanded asked another question, and rather suspiciously at that, "A chaperone Mrs. Xytell? Who would that be?"

"Why me of course! Or do you think I would just provide another temptation for this handsome young man?!"

Steve burst out laughing. Mac tried to stifle a chuckle behind a cough. Harm looked horrified. Lena clearly didn't understand. Doug, the male reporter, was grinning like a Cheshire cat, and AJ looked at Wanda Jean with amused warmth. He smiled, leaned way over to kiss her cheek and said, "You know I could never keep up with you Wanda Jean!"

"So true you dear sweet boy, but I bet we could have fun trying!" she told him with a bawdy wink.

With a chuckle, AJ told her, "I bet we could Wanda Jean. I bet we could."

It was at that point that Lena realized there was flirting going on even if she didn't know what to call it. She also didn't like AJ kissing Wanda Jean. Lena had vague memories of her parents doing things like that. Pushing her way between AJ and the tiny woman, she put her arms around AJ and glared at Wanda Jean.

"I think that's all for today," AJ told the reporters, but as he turned to get everyone else into the house, Doug threw one last parting question at Lena.

"Lena, just so our viewers can really get a chance to see you as the Nymph, could you take your clothes off for us?"

To be continued...


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Five pairs of angry eyes glared back at Doug at his question, the only ones that weren't was Harm's who was hopeful and Lena, who looked sad. AJ was about to respond to the man when Lena answered instead, "Can only take clothes off when AJ does. Make him happy and him love Lena that way."

With a firm hand AJ guided Lena into the house along with everyone else, minus the news crews. Steve was already questioning his grandmother on her sudden appearance.

"Well, I saw the live report on the news and because no one called me to tell me that AJ had been found," she gave her grandson a pointed stare before going on, "And I wanted to come over and make sure that he was alright, as well as meet Lena. Since we live so close it didn't take long to get here and it looked like I was right on time with that living together question!"

"Yes, thank you for that Wanda Jean. If Lena does prove to be the Davis girl, she should inherit her family home, as soon as she feels comfortable around modern things, she could live there," AJ told her.

"No! Lena live with AJ!"

AJ gently put his arm around her and said, "Yes Lena, you can stay here for now. We will work together to teach you the things you need to learn about this complicated world."

"She'll need schooling too AJ, how to read and write. You might want to hire a tutor for her, I doubt sending her to school would work," Wanda Jean offered.

"That's a good idea Wanda Jean, thank you. 

"Sir, I need to call the SECNAV and let him know you're back, just in case he didn't catch the news broadcast," Mac stated as she moved towards the phone.

"Of course Colonel please go ahead, and when things settle down a bit I'd like you to give me an update on the week that I missed."

"Yes Sir," she smiled at him and picked up the phone.

"As much as I'd like to stay and see what happens next, I need to be in court soon," Harm announced, and then took his leave of the group.

Steve explained that he needed to get his fingerprinting kit from his car so they could officially establish Lena's identity. He left for a few minutes and AJ was there with the three women. Mac was just finishing her call to the SECNAV and Wanda Jean was staring at Lena; AJ wondered what she was thinking. Lena herself just held on to him tightly. She seemed to be able to handle the presence of so many people easier when she was making physical contact with AJ.

When Steve returned he explained to Lena what he was going to do and then held out his hand waiting for her to let go of AJ and give him her hand. Lena looked to AJ for approval and when he nodded, she held out her hand out to Steve. He touched her fingers to the inkpad and then placed them on the card. Smiling at her he told her that he was done.

Like a child would, Lena's first reaction to seeing the black ink that remained on her fingers was to put them in her mouth to lick them clean. Her grimace of distaste just as AJ reached out to stop her, told him it was to late. "YUCKY!" she exclaimed and then tried to wipe her tongue off; unfortunately she was reacting rather than thinking and used the hand with the ink on it, only making matters worse.

AJ and Steve were trying not to laugh at this rather silly problem. Mac simply rolled her eyes at them, thinking 'boys will be boys' so it was left to Wanda Jean to come to Lena's rescue.

Having been to AJ's house on several occasions, she was familiar with it. She led Lena to the bathroom telling her that she would help her get cleaned up.

And then there were only three in the living room. Steve, knowing AJ was too much of a gentleman to ask about his relationship with Sarah in front of her, was not above questions of that sort himself. Before the other two could start talking about work, Steve asked, "So AJ, you were going to explain just how Lena knows that your 'mater thing' still works as well as how you taste?"

To be continued...


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Luckily Mac had been standing near an easy chair when this question was asked, because her legs gave way under her and she sank into the chair with her mouth agape.

"Steve!" AJ growled.

"No, really, how do you explain that pal? The girl is as green as they come and I have a hard, if not impossible time, believing that you would take advantage of her in that way, so some kind of explanation is definitely in order here."

Uncomfortable that this topic had been brought up at all, but especially in front of Colonel Mackenzie, AJ nonetheless knew that Steve was right. Lena's statements did need to be explained. Taking a deep breath he said, "Nothing happened that you need be concerned about."

"Then how do you explain what she said?" Steve demanded.

"It was very difficult not to have some kind of reaction when we were both naked."

"Why were you naked?"

"Lena removed my clothes to treat my wounds and then when the searchers showed up she took them and threw them in the woods."

"Why would she do that?"

"Because she didn't want me found. Lena thinks she loves me and wanted to keep me. Once I learned what she'd done I had a talk with her about that."

"So this 'reaction' you had led her to believe that your 'mater thing' worked? Just how did she come to learn that term?"

"I'm pretty sure she made it up. We were talking about the difference between making love and mating and I…"

"Hold on, why in the world would you be talking about those things to that child?!"

"She's not a child Steve!" Mac spoke for the first time since the conversation began. "She's at least my age and she couldn't have survived in the woods all these years if she wasn't intelligent. She may talk like a child because she was the last time she talked with people, but she doesn't think like one," she offered.

"Thank you, Colonel," AJ responded.

"Be that as it may, she's still 'innocent'," Steve protested.

"But that doesn't mean that she can't have womanly desires! I mean, the Admiral is a good-looking healthy male, no offense Sir. Why wouldn't she react to him?!"

"Why would I be offended by that, Colonel? Compliments like that at my age are few and far between."

"I mean it Sir! I thought Meredith was a fool for doing what she did to a wonderful man like you…"

"Sarah!" Steve interrupted her.

"What? A woman can't recognize a fine man even if he's not suitable for her? Hell, even Wanda Jean has the hots for him!"

"I beg your pardon?!" AJ gasped incredulously.

"She mentioned it when we were discussing the search for you Sir," Mac informed him with a grin.

"I see…" was all he would say in response to that revelation.

"So getting back to Lena," Steve rejoined the conversation.

"She does seem to have womanly desires and since I believe I'm the only man she's spent any time with since being lost in the woods, it is reasonable that she has focused them on me. I'm certain, if given time, that will pass and she'll meet a nice young man more suitable for her."

Just to see if AJ really meant what he said, Steve offered a suggestion to test his theory that AJ did have feelings for Lena, "Well, Commander Rabb certainly seemed interested in her…maybe the two of them would be a good match?"

A shudder of revulsion at that thought went through AJ's body, but all he said was, "I think Harm is a bit too experienced for Lena."

Neither Mac nor Steve was fooled however, they'd both seen the shudder and knew even if AJ wasn't admitting it to himself, that he did have feelings for Lena.

Wanda Jean and Lena came back into the room before either of them could bring the subject up. Talk turned to Mac bringing Dammit back that evening and that she and Steve needed to return to work. Mac promised to update AJ on the week when she returned that evening.

AJ knew he would find the time to speak to Steve sometime soon when he asked Mac if she'd like to stay for dinner when she dropped off Dammit and she blushed, looked at Steve, and then graciously declined the invitation.

To be continued...


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

After Mac and Steve had left, Wanda Jean said she would go home, pack a bag, and come back shortly. AJ handed her his credit card as she was leaving and asked if she would stop somewhere and pick up some clothes for Lena. Wanda Jean agreed and left.

Each day seemed to be filled with amusing incidents of teaching Lena about living indoors. The first had been while AJ was cooking dinner for the three of them, Wanda Jean had been keeping an eye on Lena so followed her outside when she got up without explanation. She had spent most of the rest of the evening trying to teach Lena the use and benefits of indoor bathrooms.

That night at bedtime, Lena wouldn't change into the nightgown Wanda Jean had bought her, or share the queen sized bed in the guest room either. Wanda Jean made a mistake when she quietly opened the door to AJ's room, intending only to show Lena that AJ slept in a bed. What they found however was AJ's clothes folded neatly on a chair nearby and him sitting up in bed, with just a sheet covering his lower half, reading a book.

As a startled AJ looked up from his book, Lena declared, "AJ no clothes!" and promptly removed hers.

With a sigh, as a naked Lena climbed under the sheet with AJ, Wanda Jean said, "I think I'll leave you to handle this one." She left the room thinking how much she wished she'd had the brass to crawl into bed with AJ too! Oh, not with Lena in there as well…she had never tried a threesome in her life, but it had been quite a dry spell between sex partners and she knew that AJ would have been a wonderful lover! Now she was all the more certain she was going to have to call Jason Lee from Bingo!

Putting his book down on the nightstand AJ turned to Lena and said, "Now that we're at my home we can't sleep together any more Lena."

"Go back to cave then!" she told him cheerfully. "No like indoors."

"This is my home and if you would just give it some time I'm sure you will like living here too."

"Like be with AJ. Love AJ. No like indoors. No like clothes."

"Then you'll have to choose Lena. But you can't base your choice on me, I'm too old for you and someday you'll meet a man that's right for you and you'll forget all about me. But for that to happen you need to learn to live in this world. You'll be amazed at all the things you've been missing! Reading for one, there is a world in books and each one is a new adventure. We'll find you a good tutor and as smart as you are I'm sure you'll be reading in no time. Won't that be great, Lena?" AJ was a bit surprised when he got no answer, but since he'd been avoiding looking at her since she'd removed her clothes, he had no way of knowing that her day of new experiences had caught up with her and she was asleep.

Knowing that he couldn't remain in his own bed with this tempting woman/child, he got up. Padding across the room to his dresser he searched out the pair of silk pajamas that his daughter, Francesca, had sent him for Christmas a few years ago that he had never worn. The deep burgundy color was nice and the silk felt good, but he'd always preferred to sleep naked, so they had laid in his bottom drawer unused. However with Wanda Jean and Lena in the house they seemed to be a good solution for sleeping on the couch.

Even though it was Saturday, AJ was up at his usual time and already making breakfast when Wanda Jean and Lena made their appearance. Wanda Jean was in a nightgown with a terry cloth robe over it and slippers, while Lean was naked. AJ looked up and shook his head, "Remember the rule, Lena, no clothes, no food…" He tired to hide a smile at her pout.

As she flounced out of the room Wanda Jean said, "I see you spent the night on the couch, AJ. Was that a hard choice to make?"

To be continued...


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

"No it wasn't Wanda Jean. I'm much too old for Lena," AJ told her.

All the while thinking, 'and you would probably say the same about me and you!' all she said out loud was, "AJ, love knows no age barriers, but Lena might think she's in love with you because you're the first man in her life."

"I'm guessing that's what it is too," he replied as Lena came back into the room… dressed this time.

Wanda Jean showed Lena how to set the table while AJ finished cooking and the three of them carried the food to the table. As they sat down, AJ reached for the peppermill to pepper his scrambled eggs. When he sat it down, Lena copying him to gain his approval, also tried to pepper her eggs, even though she had no clue what pepper was. Not able to get the black stuff to come out as AJ had, she turned the bottom up to look at it and then for some reason, blew on it. The loose pepper on the mill blew up into her face, causing her to sneeze. The jolt from the sneeze caused her to knock her plate onto the floor. Dammit was quick to act and was gobbling up the food before anyone could stop her. Lena's affronted stare was funny, as was her exclamation of, "Dammit BAD!"

With a chuckle, AJ dished out more eggs for her and then offered her a bite of his with the pepper on them. Lena turned up her nose and shook her head 'no' to anymore after trying them. They finished eating as they talked over plans for the day. Wanda Jean wanted to teach Lena how to use some of the simpler appliances around the house and added that the two of them would make lunch.

AJ agreed to the plans and although Lena didn't like the idea, he said he would spend some time in his office catching up on both mail and email. After two hours of steady work he finally finished the last of the backlog of work. Emerging from the office, he found Wanda Jean and Lena hard at work in the kitchen.

Since they were deep into the preparations for lunch, AJ thought it would be a good time for him to grab a shower. He usually took one the first thing in the mornings, but Lean had been in his room that morning and using his bathroom would have involved going through his bedroom and he hadn't wanted to chance waking her. The guest bathroom was right next door to where Wanda Jean was sleeping and he hadn't wanted to run the water and wake her either.

However since both of them were now busy and out of the way, AJ felt that the timing was right. Peeking his head into the kitchen for a moment to let them know what he was doing, AJ was just as quickly on his way to his bathroom after getting a distracted nod from Wanda Jean.

Lena had been concentrating on the instructions Wanda Jean had given her so it took her a bit longer than it normally would have to process AJ's words. 'Shower = Wash = No clothes! AJ no clothes meant Lena no clothes!' She was out of the kitchen and heading to his bathroom in a flash, stripping as she went.

Wanda Jean had been standing on a chair to get something out of the cupboard when Lena hurried from the room, but she knew in a heartbeat what the little minx was up to. Getting down from the chair as quickly as her 90+ year old body would allow, she rushed after Lena to stop her.

AJ had turned on the water in the shower and while it was heating, he undressed. Taking a minute to check on his wounds, he was pleased at how well they were healing. Lena had taken really good care of him. Maybe when she was ready for more advanced schooling she'd like to be a doctor or nurse. With a smile at the thought of Lena opening her very own 'Nudist Hospital', he stepped into the shower.

He was surprised when he met resistance closing the shower door, and shocked when it was pulled out of his hand to open and reveal Lena standing there. She was naked once again and informed him, "AJ no clothes, Lena no clothes!"

Wanda Jean's voice could be heard protesting, "I couldn't stop her! I was up on a chair and…" her voice trailed off as she entered the bathroom and got a good look at AJ standing there. "Holy Mother of God!" she exclaimed.

To be continued...


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Lena told her, "AJ wash Lena!"

"Oh?" was all Wanda Jean said, but she was thinking, 'I'd sure like him to 'wash' me! For that matter I'd like to 'wash' him too!"

Stepping to the side so Lena was between himself and Wanda Jean's appreciative eyes, he kept Lena there as he gently but firmly pushed her from the shower stall, saying, "If you ladies will excuse me, this started out as a private shower, and I'd like to continue it that way."

With a regretful sigh as AJ closed the shower door, Wanda Jean took Lena by the hand and led her from the bathroom. "We need to have a serious talk young lady," was the last thing AJ heard as they left.

During the next week several things became apparent. They discovered that Lena was in fact Helena Davis and that she was quite comfortably well off from investments that her father had made that had matured over the years. AJ looked into the law firm that her parents had used and discovered that they were still in business and were a well respected firm with a good reputation. He met with the woman who was assigned to Lena's case and was pleased with her.

Lena on the other hand, was not as happy as she wanted to be. She learned to hate the word 'work' as in…it was time for AJ to go to work. She even went so far as to hide his uniform on Wednesday morning. Nothing AJ or Wanda Jean could say would make her reveal where she'd put it. Luckily, to Lena's disgust, AJ kept a clean uniform at the office for emergencies. When her plan to keep him home failed, she no longer played hide-and-seek with his uniforms. She did however spend countless time looking out the windows and waiting on the porch for him to come home, even after she met her new tutor on Thursday.

Wanda Jean and AJ interviewed several candidates for the job of tutoring Lena and finally settled on a retired grade school teacher that had raised four children as well. Mrs. Crenshaw was in her late sixties and was looking for a reason to get out of the house every day, she told them. Bingo wasn't her thing, she said with a laugh.

Dammit liked having the women in the house because it meant that she wasn't locked in the mudroom all day while AJ was at work.

On Thursday night Wanda Jean headed off to Bingo after making sure that AJ would be home to keep an eye on their charge. He assured her he would and even agreed that there was no problem about her being out late. Wanda Jean had arranged to spend some quality time with Jason Lee after their normal Bingo hours.

It took the better part of a month until AJ and Wanda Jean felt that Lena was doing well enough with all the details that living in a house brought, that they thought she was ready to move into her family home by herself. Although she had made great strides in acclimating herself to the modern world, she still hated wearing clothes and would be out of them any chance she got. As yet, AJ hadn't even considered teaching Lena to drive, she was still leery about even riding in a car, but he was sure she would need to learn soon if she was going to be living on her own.

Lena enjoyed the learning process as AJ had expected she would. She was bright, just uneducated by normal standards. In the month she had been working with her tutor, she was already mastering simple math techniques and had started reading. The problem, as far as Lena was concerned, was that she was doing all this to please AJ, and she wasn't getting the rewards she was seeking. Oh sure, she had his approval and praise for all that she accomplished, but she never got to spend time with him with no clothes, they didn't sleep together under her bearskin, nor did they ever get to spend any more than a few minutes here and there alone together. Between his time at the evil 'work' and hers with her tutor about all they had were the evenings and with the exception of Thursdays, Wanda Jean was always there.

To be continued...


	50. Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Lena found she did like the weekends though. AJ didn't go to work and one of the two days usually brought the yellow-haired lady named Harriett and her husband Bud, the man with the funny leg, they came over with their children. Lena discovered that she loved children! The boys loved hearing stories of her life in the woods and the two cuddly baby girls were so wonderful to hold. The lady told Lena that she was a natural mother. Lena wasn't sure what that meant, but hearing it put a funny look on AJ's face. All she knew was that she liked holding and playing with the children.

AJ fondly remembered Lena's first trip to the grocery store. They had scheduled it for Saturday because Lena still wouldn't go anywhere without him along. It was as if he were her security blanket. But her wide-eyed-wonder at seeing so much food in one place would long live in his memory. There were so many things that she had no knowledge of. Lena ignored anything in boxes or cans and the spice and baking aisles were passed by as well. She'd found that snack foods were too salty for her taste and even though both Wanda Jean and Mac had told her how good it was, Lena didn't like chocolate. Coffee, tea, and pop were also on the 'Lena no like' list.

She however loved milk and AJ now found it hard to keep enough in the house. The half-gallon that he usually bought for himself wasn't enough for Lena, so he started buying gallons, but even that proved inadequate. To Lena, an open gallon was a gone gallon. When she saw the cooler full of milk on her first grocery store trip, Wanda Jean and AJ had all they could do to keep her from filling the cart with it. She couldn't, or wouldn't understand that it would 'go bad' before she could drink that much. AJ solved the problem by promising that when she finished what they bought that day he would get her more. Lena had learned that AJ always kept his promises and allowed them to leave the store with only four of the precious gallons.

One night AJ laughed till tears were streaming down his cheeks. He had said to Lena that he needed to get something out of the freezer for dinner the next night and happily accepted Lena's offer to do it for him. When he went into the kitchen before bed that night to set up the coffeepot for the next morning, he found that Lena had put her offering on the drain board next to the sink as she had see AJ and Wanda Jean do. Proudly sitting there thawing was a carton of ice cream. Not wanting to embarrass her, he simply got out a package of boneless skinless chicken breasts and sat them next to the melting ice cream.

When the first month was nearly up, talk turned more and more to Lena moving into her own home, but the thought of moving out of AJ's house and into one of her own was met with great resistance. Even though she had been to the house they told her was hers several times, after AJ had a cleaning service go over the place completely, she didn't want to leave AJ. As she'd gone through the house vague memories of living there surfaced, but it wasn't until the third visit that she could work up the courage to enter her parents' bedroom, even though AJ assured her that her parents were no longer in there. Clinging to his hand she finally went into the room and broke into tears when she saw the bed and chair where she had last seen them.

AJ held her as she cried. Finally when she lifted her head from his shoulder she went over to the bedside table and picked up a picture of her parents holding her on their lap. The little family looked so happy in the picture. Lena cuddled it to her and when they left her house that day the picture went back to AJ's with her.

To be continued...


	51. Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Between AJ and Wanda Jean, they stocked Lena's new home so all she needed to do was take the few clothes that she had and move right in. Finally the day came when everyone but Lena was ready for the move. She pleaded and begged to stay with AJ, but he told her as gently as he could that it was time for her to go. Her reaction to that was then to beg and plead that AJ move to her house with her. Once again he explained that wouldn't be happening. However, Wanda Jean told Lena that if she wanted her to, she would go with her until she was comfortable there on her own.

AJ also promised that they would see each other often. She could walk over on the weekends and they would have dinner together one or two nights a week. For the first three days everything went smoothly, but on Thursday, when Wanda Jean told Lena she was going to Bingo and wouldn't be back till late, Lena threw a fit. AJ was also working late that night and she was facing her first night alone since coming out of the woods.

They were surprised that she wasn't looking forward to some time alone, she'd had so little of it since entering the modern world, but Lena often surprised them in her reactions to things. However, Wanda Jean, ever the believer in 'tough love' and in getting her 'quality time' with Jason Lee, told Lena to 'suck it up' and left on time for her Bingo night.

It was just after midnight when AJ's phone rang. Instantly alert, he wondered what emergency had come up to require his attention at that hour. Wanda Jean's voice came over the line reporting that when she returned to Lena's house it was dark, so she had quietly peeked into Lena's room to check on her and discovered that she wasn't there. After a frantic search of the house Wanda Jean realized that Lena was gone.

AJ was already dressing with the phone tucked under his cheek as Wanda Jean talked. When she paused for a breath he told her not to worry that he would find her. Wanda Jean said that she would call Steve and get him and Mac to start looking too, since they were living together now that they were engaged. AJ told her that he was pretty sure he knew where she was and not to disturb the lovebirds. She reluctantly agreed not to call them. Wanda Jean was always happiest when stirring up a hornet's nest!

Calling Dammit to his side, AJ left the house with a flashlight in hand and extra clothes for Lena in the other and headed to the cave behind the waterfall. It took him longer because it was dark, but the trip to the cave was an easy one. Dammit kept running on ahead leading the way, but when they reached the waterfall she had no idea how to get behind it. Telling her to wait, AJ went behind the falls himself and as he had expected, found Lena huddled near a small fire. She was curled up under her bearskin, alone and asleep. He could see the tear streaks on her cheeks in the dim light from the fire that was almost out.

Walking over to her he gently shook her awake. She opened her eyes and when she saw who it was, threw herself into his arms. Crying her heart out, she told him over and over again that she loved him and wanted to be with him, but he assured her that she would grow out of it as time passed and she met other men.

However she kept insisting that wasn't the case. AJ had nowhere to go in the face of her assurance that she would love him forever. All he could do was offer her the clothes he had brought with him and say that she needed to come back to her home. Reluctantly she got up and dressed, then with one last look at the cave, walked out with him and to her new home.

To be continued...


	52. Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Saturday, April 29, 2006

Nearly a year had passed from the time of AJ's bear attack. His wounds had completely healed even though they had left scars on his already battle marked body. Lena was doing amazingly well these days, and Mac grumbled that Lena was even a better cook than she was.

Mac and Steve had married six months ago and they were expecting their first child. Wanda Jean was still showing up every morning for coffee and Mac found that she truly enjoyed her time with the feisty old lady.

Wanda Jean and Jason Lee were seeing each other quite often these days, no longer just on Bingo nights. But when Steve had butted into her life for once and suggested that she marry him, Wanda Jean replied that they'd thought of it, but neither one had wanted to give up the home they lived in and that both their pension checks would be cut if they married, so they would just continue as they were.

Lena continued to adapt and grow. Her vocabulary had improved tremendously although at times AJ found himself missing her Nymph-speak, but her conversation was nearly normal these days. She and AJ still had dinner one night a week and he would often see her on the weekends at either Steve and Mac's house or at his own when the Roberts would be over with the children.

During the last few months Lena had even been out on a few dates. Each time AJ had worried how she would handle herself and then had to sit and listen to every detail the next time he saw her. The one that worried him the worst was when she told him that she was going out with Harm! He tried to talk her out of it, explaining that Harm was much too old for her. She argued that since she would be thirty-seven in a week and Harm was only forty-two so they were not that different in age.

Then AJ told her what he'd meant was that Harm was too experienced for her, but it seemed that every argument he presented only made her more determined to go on the date. It was almost as if she was enjoying taunting him with how much she was looking forward to it. Even describing, in great detail, her shopping trip with Mac to find the perfect dress for the date. She described the dress to him and even to AJ it sounded much too mature for her, or too tempting for Harm. AJ was only slightly calmed when he called Mac later that night to be told that she wouldn't have let Lena get something that was inappropriate.

Mac also said that she'd had a talk with Harm, warning him to behave. She heard AJ's sigh of relief and asked him about it. He admitted that had been going to be his next call.

AJ watched his clock and phone all night while Lena was out with Harm. He'd told her to call if anything happened that she didn't like or couldn't handle. He also told her not to stay out too late, but she just gave him a much too womanly smile and said she would be okay. At midnight, when she still hadn't called as he had told her to do the minute she got home, he could resist the urge no longer. He picked up the phone and called her house.

The answering machine picked up telling him that she wasn't home yet. He called again at 12:30 and at 1am with the same result. At 1:30 he was pacing the floor and trying to talk himself out of calling Harm's apartment. By 2am after calling once again he was ready to get in his car and drive over there just to make sure she wasn't home and then he was going to track down Harmon Rabb and probably kill him!

Arriving at her house AJ was amazed to see the lights were on! She answered the door to his knock, with a smile and an invitation to come in. There on the hall table was the phone flashing that she had five unanswered messages. "Lena when did you get home?" he demanded.

"Why?" she asked, still smiling.

"Because I have been calling since midnight!"

"I know," she answered calmly

To be continued...


	53. Chapter 53

Chapter 53

"What do you mean 'you know'?" AJ demanded.

"It means that I heard every call," Lena answered serenely.

"You were home?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you answer the phone?"

"Because I didn't want you to know I was home."

"What?!" and when he realized that she would just explain 'what' she meant he quickly asked what he really wanted to know, "Why?!"

"Because I wanted to see how long it would take you to come over. You were much longer than I thought you'd be. I was getting sleepy and was about to go to bed."

"Let me get this straight…you deliberately didn't answer my calls, knowing that I would eventually show up here?"

"Yes."

"What time did you get home?"

"Eleven."

"Why, Lena? Why would you want me to worry that way?"

"AJ, you are a very smart man and I know that if you think about it hard enough you will figure it out. Now I'd like to go to bed, so if you will please leave…" she moved to the door and held it open for him. AJ was in such a state of shock that he just walked through without saying a word. He heard the door close and lock behind him and before he could even step off the porch, the lights inside were turned off.

He was an intelligent man and it really didn't take much thinking on his part to know why she had done what she did. Lena was trying to make him jealous, and it had worked. But that didn't take away the factor of their age difference. He was still too old for her and no matter how much he wanted her, or loved her, he wouldn't allow her to tie herself to a man old enough to be her father!

AJ had finally admitted to himself that he loved Lena at Mac and Steve's wedding. He remembered the exact moment; it had actually been at the reception, when she had caught the bridal bouquet that Mac had thrown over her shoulder. Lena had turned her triumphant grin on AJ and his heart had melted. In that one fleeting moment he had thought, 'Why not? I'd be good to her and even if we might not have a lifetime together, we could live a lifetime in the years we did have!'. He was about to start across the room to sweep her up into his arms and profess his love for her when one of the groomsmen, a fellow officer that Steve worked with, approached her. He showed her Mac's garter that he'd caught and they moved off to the dance floor to share the traditional 'next two to get married' dance, and AJ knew that he could never tell Lena how he felt. She needed to be with someone her own age that she could have a real future with.

So no matter what she put him through, he would keep his feelings to himself until she found someone else to focus her attention on.

Because this would be Lena's first birthday party since leaving the woods, and she had made so many friends in her year among them, everyone decided they wanted to make this a very special day for her. Since her actual birthday was in the middle of the week, Wanda Jean, Mac, and Harriett decided that they would have the party on the Sunday before. Plans were made for a BBQ on the patio between Steve and Wanda Jean's houses. The guest list would include; AJ, Harm, the entire Roberts' clan, as well as Steve, Mac, Wanda Jean and Jason Lee, also included would be her tutor, Mrs. Crenshaw.

The week before the plans for the party had begun, Lena learned a new term for her favorite mode of dress. She had walked over to Wanda Jean's house to ask her a question, still not comfortable with using phones because you couldn't see the person you were talking to, Lena preferred in person conversations whenever possible. Because Wanda Jean hadn't been expecting company, Lena caught her just getting out of the shower. Wanda Jean apologized for taking so long to get to the door, but she hadn't wanted to answer it in her birthday suit.

Not understanding, Lena asked if Wanda Jean had a birthday coming up soon too. Wanda Jean reminded Lena that her birthday was in July. Lena then guessed that the birthday suit was something she had bought to wear on Lena's birthday, and asked if she could see it.

To be continued...


	54. Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Finally catching on that this was just another term that Lena had never learned, Wanda Jean explained that saying you were 'in your birthday suit' was just another way to say you were naked.

Whether Lena had always had a wicked sense of humor or whether it had developed when she was suddenly surrounded by people, no one could really tell. But she delighted in playing on the fact that most people couldn't tell if she really didn't 'get' something or whether she was playing with them. That was how she came to pull a good one over on Mac.

When Mac approached Lena about plans for the party, she explained the idea of the BBQ and asked Lena what she wanted to list on the invitations for style of dress. Lena replied, as if proudly showing off another new word she'd learned, that since it was her birthday, she wanted everyone to wear their birthday suits.

Mac stared at her in shocked silence waiting to see if Lena was kidding, but Lena knew when to hold out for a reaction. She sat there smiling calmly until Mac was forced to conclude that Lena was serious.

Trying as delicately as she could, Mac explained that 'birthday suit' was a way of saying 'naked'. She was a bit flummoxed when Lena just smiled and said she knew that. Then Mac told her that they couldn't ask the guests to come naked, and Lena asked why.

The look on Mac's face was more than Lena could take by then and she burst out laughing. That was when Mac realized that she'd been had.

Joining in the laughter, they both enjoyed the joke, and then settled on 'casual' as the style of dress for the party.

Sunday, May 7, 2006

1100 EST

Xytell home

McLean, Virginia

The party was a roaring success, to everyone but AJ. Lena spent the entire day hanging on Harm's arm. Everyone there could see that she was trying to make AJ jealous, everyone but Harm that is, he just lapped up the attention. The only odd request from the birthday girl was that there be no birthday kisses, hugs were fine but no kisses. Harm, as the only one that dated her, knew that she wouldn't kiss at the end of a date either. No one knew the reason and Lena wouldn't explain. They finally put it down to something that she wasn't used to after being in the woods for so long.

Since Lena's actual birthday was on Wednesday of that week, she had told AJ that she would like to make dinner for him. He protested that it was her birthday and that he should either cook for her or take her out. But she insisted that it was how she wanted to celebrate her birthday, so he agreed. However when he arrived at the appointed time on Wednesday evening, she was nowhere to be found. The house was dark and locked. Having no idea what might have upset her this time, AJ still knew that he would find her in her cave; it was where she always retreated to when something happened that she wanted to hide away from.

He arrived to find her, just as he had suspected, in her cave. What he hadn't expected was to see that there was a cozy fire burning and that dinner for two was laid out on her bearskin. Lena was naked, that was not unexpected, but it was very hard to keep his eyes from straying from her face.

She looked up and smiled when he entered the cave, but before he could take more than a step away from the spray of the waterfall, she was wiggling her finger and shaking her head 'no'. Standing, she walked right up to him and started to loosen his tie.

"Lena, what are you doing?" he asked putting his hands up to stop her.

"My cave, my rules. If you are going to have dinner here with me tonight, you have to do it without your clothes!" she informed him as she pulled the tie from around his neck and handed it to him.

To be continued...


	55. Chapter 55

Chapter 55

"What?! Lena I can't!" AJ exclaimed.

"Yes you can, you dress and undress yourself everyday…or if you like, I could do it for you…I have before…"

"You don't understand, that wasn't an 'I _can't_ ' it was an ' _I_ can't'."

"I see," Lena said, nodding slowly. Stepping back and turning her back on him, she added, "Then I'd like you to leave, AJ."

"What?!"

"I've tried life on your terms for nearly a year now. Have done everything you asked of me. I've worn clothes, lived in a house, learned all about your world, and I did all that to please you, in the hopes that you would someday come to love me as I love you. I even dated other men because you wanted me to…"

"I only wanted you to be happy!" he interrupted.

"All I ever needed to be happy was your love. Without that, I've decided to come back and live here in this cave."

"You can't!"

"Was that a 'you _can't_ ' or a ' _you_ can't'? Because honestly whichever way you meant it I can assure you that I can! I lived here for almost thirty-five years and I can again."

"But other people…other _men_ know about this place now! Surely you can't be planning to live here in the nude?!"

"You don't want me, why should you care?" she wanted to know.

"I never said I didn't care! Of course I care about your well-being!"

"I see, you care even if you don't want me."

"I never said I didn't want you either! Only that I'm wrong for you! I'm too old!"

"I have always been able to think for myself AJ, even if I couldn't express myself well. Don't you think I should have some kind of say in that?"

"You know I didn't mean I didn't want you to think for yourself, but I'm old enough to be your father!"

"And yet your 'mater thing' still works when you get around me."

Flushing at the truth in her statement, he nonetheless protested, "That's not really what it's called."

"Oh I know. It's really a penis, cock, your manhood, pecker, member, shaft, rod, tool, joy stick, or Mr. Happy."

"Wanda Jean has a lot to answer for!" he sighed.

"Actually, some were from Mac and the last two were Harriett's names for it."

"Lena! You shouldn't be telling me that!"

"Why ever not?"

"I have to work with Bud! How will I ever be able to look him in the face again knowing what Harriett calls his…his…" he stuttered to a stop.

"Penis, cock, manhood…" she happily supplied.

"You know what I mean!"

"It's okay really, she told me that she always called it a 'joy stick' before meeting Bud, but since he called his Mr. Happy, she started to also!" Lena grinned at AJ's discomfort.

"We're getting off the subject here..."

"Yes, the subject is that you care about me and want me even though you are too old for me, but you don't love me. Is that about it?"

His plan all along was to keep his eyes on her face because he knew he couldn't hide his reaction to her beautiful form if he strayed, but now, looking into her eyes was his downfall. The sadness he saw there was reflected in his heart every time he wished that he could turn the years back so he could be with her. How could he have known she was hurting just like he was? But it was all there in her eyes. Those beautiful eyes.

AJ walked up to her and knew he could no longer deny both their needs. Caressing her cheek with his large hand, he whispered, "No, that isn't it Lena. I do love you, I only admitted it to myself at Mac and Steve's wedding, but I think I loved you right from the first."

"Then why have you kept us apart?" she begged to know as a single tear slid down her cheek.

Wiping it away with his thumb, he told her, "Because of our age differences."

"That hasn't changed."

"No, but I just realized that you're braver than I am."

"You, who's been in battle?"

"Ah, but you had the courage to fight even me for what you wanted, and I thank god you did. If you will forgive me for being so stubborn Lena, I'd like to spend the rest of my life making it up to you."

To be continued...


	56. Chapter 56

Chapter 56

"Does that mean you want us to live together and not apart like we have been?" Lena asked eagerly.

"No, it means more that that. I want you to marry me, Lena," AJ told her.

"Like Mac and Steve?"

"Yes just like that," he replied with a grin.

"I love you, AJ," she said with a sigh.

"And I love you, Lena," AJ responded as he leaned in close to kiss her. He was watching her face to see how she was going to react to their first kiss when he noticed that she wasn't closing her eyes as you normally did right before a kiss. She also hadn't tilted her head to the side so their noses wouldn't collide. That was when it hit him that she didn't seem to know she was supposed to do those things. "Lena, have you ever been kissed before?"

"No," she answered almost breathlessly.

"Not by the men you dated? Not by Harm?"

"No, AJ. I wanted to share that with just you. Will you tell me what to do? I want to make you happy."

"Lena, you make me happy just by being you," he told her softly. Gently tilting her head to one side he whispered, "Just do whatever feels good," and tenderly brought their lips together. He didn't try to deepen the kiss, instead he allowed their mouths to be in motionless contact for several seconds and then he started to play a bit. Changing from just contact to multiple little pecks, which drew a giggle from her. Then he changed tactics again; this time to nibbles and nips.

Those she tried to avoid at first and when she found she couldn't, because he held her face in his hands, she tired to retaliate. That however proved impossible because he kept dodging out of the way. Lena however was no dummy and learned quickly from her teacher. She also took his face prisoner with her hands and began to join in the fun.

Before long, AJ could tell she was becoming aroused. Lena started to press up against him and her legs were rubbing together telling him that she was getting wet; it was time to call a halt. "Lena, we have to stop," he reluctantly told her, because she wasn't the only one that had been effected by the kiss.

"Why?"

"Because we're not ready for this."

"I'm ready, AJ, and I think you are too," she answered and boldly cupped his growing manhood.

Startled he pulled back and demanded, "Where in the world did you learn that!"

"Wanda Jean rented me an 'instructional video'. Did I do it wrong?"

"No, but that woman still has a lot to answer for!"

"There were other things on the video I want to do with you. AJ, will you make love to me?"

"Don't you want to wait till we're married, darling?"

"No I want our first time to be on my birthday here in this cave."

"Lena, the first time for you will hurt," he gently told her.

"No it won't, I'll be so caught up in the beauty of the moment that I'll hardly notice it at all."

"Wanda Jean again?" he asked with a sigh.

"No, Mac this time."

"Have you talked to everyone I know about the two of us having sex?" he wondered how he would face them knowing this.

"No, I talked to them about making love to you. They all think it is a wonderful idea," she answered with a smile. Going over to the bearskin she laid down and held out her arms to him, "Won't you please make me a woman?" Lena asked with a loving smile.

Knowing that he could no longer deny them what they both wanted, he slowly began to undress, even though she had seen him naked before he didn't want to startle her. But Lena didn't look worried or afraid, she lay there waiting for him with an eager look on her face, an eagerness that took control of him as well and he shed the rest of his clothes quickly. Joining her on the bearskin he was determined to take this first time for her slowly and carefully, so she didn't feel the hurt, but just the beauty of the moment as Mac had told her she would.

AJ felt stronger than he ever had in his life at that moment; he felt that finally this was his destiny. This woman. This place. This time. He was going to make it perfect for her, and it was going to be the start of a perfect life together for the two of them.

Quite some time later as they lay cuddled in each other's arms on the bearskin, after the most beautiful lovemaking that he'd ever experienced, Lena sighed in pleasure and fulfillment, snuggling closer to him. With a tender smile he said, "You never did answer me when I asked if you would marry me, all you said was 'I love you'."

With a soft smile she asked, "If I marry you, will that make me Mrs. AJ Chegwidden?"

"In the eyes of the world, yes, but to me, you will always be my Woodland Nymph," he told her lovingly.

"Then my answer is 'yes'!"

THE END


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